Uncle Vanya is one of Chekhov's most acclaimed plays, dealing with frustrated hopes and what might be called the "wasted life"; each character is desperately unhappy, and like Tolstoy's unhappy families, are so in their own way.

The theme is carried through by being performed in tandem with Chekhov's Three Sisters; using the same sets and cast, director Andrei Konchalovsky draws on the striking similarities between these two celebrated plays.

The two productions have previously performed at Moccobeta State Academic Theatre in Moscow; one of the oldest theatres in Russia, having been founded in 1923.