Although the play had previous small runs in provincial theatres in 1898, its metropolitan première took place on 7 November [O.S. 26 October] 1899 at the Moscow Art Theatre. Constantin Stanislavski played the role of Astrov while Chekhov's future wife Olga Knipper played Yelena. The initial reviews were favorable but pointed to defects in both the play and the performances. As the staging and the acting improved over successive performances, and as "the public understood better its inner meaning and nuances of feeling", the reviews improved.[7] Uncle Vanya became a permanent fixture in the Moscow Art Theatre.
The play was adapted as the stage-play Dear Uncle by the British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, who reset it in the 1930s Lake District. This adaptation premiered from July to September 2011 at the Stephen Joseph Theatre.[8]
In January 2014 24/6: A Jewish Theater Company performed TuBishVanya, a modern adaptation that incorporated Jewish and environmental themes.
In 2023, an off-off-Broadway production of Uncle Vanya performed in an unmarked Manhattan loft for an audience of 40. Directed by Jack Serio and using a translation by Paul Schmidt, the cast featured Will Brill as Astrov, Julia Chan as Yelena, David Cromer as Vanya, Will Dagger as Telegin, Marin Ireland as Sonya, Bill Irwin as Serebryakov (replaced by Thomas Jay Ryan), Virginia Wing as Marina, Ann McDonough as Maria, and Nathan Malin as Yefim.[9]
Among the actors who have played Uncle Vanya on Broadway are Ralph Richardson, Nicol Williamson, Tom Courtenay, and Derek Jacobi. In April 2024, a Broadway production of Uncle Vanya will be staged in the Lincoln Center Theatre by director Lila Neugebauer. The cast will include Steve Carell as Uncle Vanya, Allison Pill as Sonya, William Jackson Harper as Astrov, Alfred Molina as Alexander Serabryakov, Anika Noni Rose as Yelena, Jonathan Hadary as Telegin/"Waffles," Jayne Houdyshell as Mama Voinitski, and Mia Katigbak as Marina.[10]
Other actors who have appeared in notable stage productions of Uncle Vanya include Michael Redgrave, Paul Scofield, Peter O'Toole, Albert Finney, Franchot Tone, Cate Blanchett, Peter Dinklage, Jacki Weaver, Antony Sher, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Simon Russell Beale, William Hurt, George C. Scott, Donald Sinden, Michael Gambon, Trevor Eve, and Laurence Olivier.
Parodies
- The Fifth Elephant, a 1999 novel by Terry Pratchett, includes a pastiche of Chekhov plays in which "the gloomy and purposeless trousers of Uncle Vanya" are loaned to Captain Vimes.[11]
- Life Sucks: Or the Present Ridiculous, a 2015 stage adaptation by Aaron Posner, premiered at Theater J in Washington, DC.[12]
- The Reduced Shakespeare Company performed a shortened version of the play on their BBC radio show in 2010 that contained only three lines:[13]
"Are you Uncle Vanya?" "I am." [Gunshot sounds] "Ouch!"
- Uncle Vanya and Zombies, a 2012 post-apocalyptic stage adaptation by Markus Wessendorf, premiered at Kennedy Theatre in Honolulu.[14][15]
