Cate Blanchett to Star in Uncle Vanya at City Center

The Sydney Theater Company’s acclaimed production of Uncle Vanya, starring Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving, will play the City Center from July 19 through July 28 as part of the Lincoln Center Festival, according to The New York Times. Blanchett will reprise her role as Yelena and Weaving will reprise Astrov. The production, which was first staged in Sydney, had a limited run last summer at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Uncle Vanya, translated from Chekhov by Blanchett’s husband Andrew Upton, will be directed by Tamás Ascher. The cast of the Kennedy Center production included John Bell as Serebryakov, Blanchett as Yelena, Sandy Gore as Maria, Hayley McElhinney as Sonya, Anthony Phelan as Telegin, Richard Roxburgh as Vanya, Andrew Tighe as a laborer and Jacki Weaver as Marina.

On a dilapidated, remote farm Uncle Vanya (Roxburgh) and his niece Sonya (McElhinney) have worked slavishly for years to sustain an estate in decline. Now Professor Serebryakov (Bell) and his wife Yelena (Blanchett) have returned to visit, bringing with them chaos and disruption. Constant visits from the charismatic Astrov (Weaving) are not helpful. Lunch is no longer served at lunch time—now it is procrastinated until dusk — work is forgotten and the long, cool nights have become sleepless. From this hotbed of disarray grow three consuming love affairs, each of which is destined to wither in disappointment before it has reached bloom. It is in this climate of frustration and thwarted hopes that the Professor chooses to announce a shocking plan.

The Kennedy production featured set design by Zsolt Khell, costume design by Györgyi Szakács, lighting design by Nick Schlieper and music and sound design by Paul Charlier.