The deepest emotions erupt after the laughter fades.

Ultimately, what never falters even as life wavers makes up our story.

 

 

Unfulfilled dreams, burnt-out passion, and time at a standstill.

 

 

Uncle Vanya captures the incessant emotional turbulence stirring beneath the surface of days that do not seem to change at all.

In the moments where reality and idealism clash, where torpor and desire collide, the play reflects the way we live today.

 

 

Within the irony of a life where tragedy and comedy coexist,

each character finds their own way to get through the day and move forward in the end.

 

 

Still, in spite of everything, how must we live?

 

 

 

 

A seasoned cast of extraordinary depth creates a compelling stage!

 

 

Shim Eun-kyung makes her theatrical debut in Uncle Vanya, showing audiences a new side of her artistry.

 

Cho Seong-ha builds a persuasive portrait of powerlessness and fractured desire.

 

Yim Kang-hee captures the sense of hollowness and irony that lingers beneath elegance.

 

Kim Seung-dae brings his character fully to life through precision and painstaking detail.

 

Alongside them, accomplished actors including Son Sook, Nam Myeong-ryeol, Ki Joo-bong,

 

and Chung Kyoung-soon come together to deliver a drama laced with both laughter and sorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

Anton Chekhov’s timeless classic Uncle Vanya once again stands the test of time,

newly reimagined here with distinctly Korean sensibilities and language. 

 

 

A classic that refuses to fade. Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, one of his four great plays,

 

is reimagined here through a Korean lens, in its language and its emotional world.

 

 

As the characters are caught between heightened awareness and the inertia of reality,

 

director Cho Kwang-hwa approaches them with a light sense of comedy,

 

drawing out both laughter and tears from the textures of everyday life.

 

Lee Tae-sup’s restrained set design, Tchai Kim’s contemporary costume design,

 

and the classical score by Ohmbre,

 

formerly of Coreyah, each bring a distinct aesthetic sensibility.

 

 

Together, they shape a richly layered stage where wit and farce, laughter and grief, intersect with one another.

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

 

 

There is a rice mill in the quiet rural countryside of Yeong-dong.

 

Park Yi-bo and his niece Seo Eun-hee have kept the mill running for years, sustaining the household and

 

supporting Seo Byeong-hoo, who built an academic career in the city.

 

 

However, when the retired professor returns to the mill with his young wife Oh Young-ran,

the once-calm routine begins to crack.

 

 

Confronted with Byeong-hoo’s self-pity and ineffectuality,

Yi-bo becomes consumed by rage and regret over the years he has given away for nothing.

 

Meanwhile, Eun-hee harbors feelings for the doctor Ahn Hae-il in silence, unable to express them.

 

Young-ran finds herself drawn to Hae-il in the fog of a joyless marriage,

while Hae-il, adrift after the death of a patient, is caught between his ideals and reality.

 

 

When Byeong-hoo raises the possibility of selling the mill and disposing of the property,

the long-suppressed tension finally erupts.

 

 

Yi-bo spirals into despair and is driven to a desperate act, yet in the end, nothing changes.

 

When the storm passes, those who remain must return to their places and face the harsh truth that life must go on.

 

 

Original Play by Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov was born in 1860, the son of an impoverished peasant. In 1879, he enrolled in the Moscow State University School of Medicine. Unable to abandon his literary ambitions, he supported himself by publishing short stories in magazines rather than practicing medicine. Between 1882 and 1887, he published more than 300 stories, and in 1887 his collection At Dusk received the Pushkin Prize, bringing him widespread recognition in literary circles. Alongside O. Henry and Guy de Maupassant, Chekhov is regarded as one of the three great masters of the short story, and his influence on writers around the world has been immense. He devoted himself equally to playwriting, committing fully to the form and producing a series of masterpieces from 1896 onward. In particular, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard are considered his four major plays. The relentless pace of his writing worsened his tuberculosis, and he died in 1904 at the age of 44. Chekhov’s plays and stories continue to be performed and read worldwide.

 

Major Works

The Seagull, Ivanov, Uncle Vanya, The Bear, A Marriage Proposal, Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard

 

Adapted and Directed by Cho Kwang-hwa

Cho Kwang-hwa made his debut in 1992 when his play was selected for the Munhwa Ilbo Summer Literary Contest. The following year, Hwanggudo, staged by theatre company ZakEunShinHwa under director Choi Yong-hoon, drew praise from critics and audiences alike. He went on to write Jongno Cat and Ophelia, further establishing himself as a playwright. In 1997, he gained widespread recognition as a director with Man’s Impulse. He has remained prolific across theatre and musical theatre ever since. In 2017, marking the 20th anniversary of his directorial debut, he revived Man’s Impulse with actors Ryu Seung-beom and Park Hae-soo, achieving a success comparable to its original run.

 

Major Works
Theater

Written / Directed / Adapted: Mad Kiss, Peach Blossoms, Man’s Impulse, Cheolan Buddha

Director: Frankenstein

Musical Theater

Written and Directed: Hourglass, Sound Thief, Angel’s Claw

Directed: The Fortress, The Harmonium in My Memory, Werther, Dalgona

Written: Seopyeonje, Rock Hamlet  

Korean Lyrics: Les Misérables

 

Creative Team

Original Play by Anton Chekhov

Translated by Jang Han

Adapted and Directed by Cho Kwang-hwa

Dramaturgy Yoon Seo-hyun

Set Design Lee Tae-sup

Lighting Design Jeong Tae-Jin

Costume Design Kim Young-jin (Tchai Kim)

Makeup Design Baek Ji-young

Props Design Noh Ju-yeon

Music Ohmbre

Sound Design Kwon Ji-hwi

Assistant Director Kim Ha-ney

Assistant Director Han Si-an

Company Manager Park Eun-seo

 

Cast

Son Sook

Nam Myeong-ryeol

Yim Kang-hee

Shim Eun-kyung

Cho Seong-ha

Kim Seung-dae

Ki Joo-bong

Chung Kyoung-soon

Sim Wan-Joon

Min Jae-wan

Kim Shin-hyo