Twentieth-century theatre of Russian theatre and one of the greatest developments in the history of world drama." Nemirovich described the applause, which came after a prolonged silence, as bursting from the audience like a dam breaking and the production received unanimous praise from the press. Later analysts attribute the production's success to the fidelity of its delicate representation of everyday life, its intimate, ensemble playing, and the resonance of its mood of despondent uncertainty with the psychological disposition of the Russian intelligentsia of the time. Productions of Ibsen, Shakespeare, and Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard and Three Sisters were also very
Uncle Vanya Serebryakov is an immoral waste of vitality. Astrov is forced to depart to attend a patient, but not before delivering a speech on the preservation of the forests, a subject he is very passionate about. Act I closes with Vanya declaring his love for an exasperated Yelena. The dining room, several days later. It is late at night. Before going to bed, Serebryakov complains of being in pain and of old age. Astrov arrives, having been sent for by Sonya, but the professor refuses to see him. After Serebryakov is asleep, Yelena and Vanya talk. She speaks of the discord