Like parasites, the despotic, retired Professor Serebryakov and his beautiful new spouse Yelena have nested on the rural estate of Serebryakov’s late wife, since life in the city has become too expensive. His daughter Sonya and her uncle Vanya, the brother of the deceased wife, have been working hard for years to maintain the estate although they can hardly bear the dreariness that surrounds them. Vanya has spent half of his life editing and revising the supposedly world-shattering art theories of the professor. When they turn out to be pretty much insignificant, and when Serebryakov discloses that he is intent on selling the estate to buy himself a retirement home, Vanya’s agonized disenchantment leads to an escalation. In an attempt to murder Serebryakov, Vanya hopes to free himself from his now meaningless dependency. To no avail – Vanya misses the target. There is no prospect of change. “Scenes from Country Life”, the piece was subtitled by Chekhov in 1896. Today it might be called “Mosaic of a Depression”.
