Korean struggles reflected in dueling renditions of Chekhov classic

Two versions of an unhappy uncle have drawn Korean theatergoers this May, as Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” arrived in Seoul in contrasting productions at two of the country’s best-known venues. The dueling “Uncle Vanya” productions opened weeks apart at LG Arts Center and the National Theater Company of Korea. The two stagings of the 19th-century Russian classic with television and film celebrities in key roles sparked buzz before the productions even opened. Both succeeded in attracting audiences and selling out performances for reasons that went well beyond their celebrity casts. Many Koreans found they could relate with Chekhov’s weary uncle and circumstances he was in. ‘Ajeossi’ meets Chekhov’s worn-out Vanya The original work, first staged in 1899, centers on Vanya, who devotes his life to managing a rural estate in Russia for his late sister’s husband, a professor. He confronts the possibility that his sacrifices may have been in vain when the professor returns with his young, beautiful new wife Yelena, destroying the fragile peace Vanya has maintained with his niec

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