Laughter is a great healer.

At London's West End theatre, the Vaudeville Ken Stott, Anna Friel, Laura Carmichael (from Downtown Abbey) and Samuel West are united together on stage for the first time in one of Anton Chekhov's undisputed masterpieces, UNCLE VANYA. Adapted by Christopher Hampton, UNCLE VANYA uniquely blends sparkling wit and earthy humour to brilliant comic effect.

Vanya (Ken Stott), Yelena (Anna Friel), Astrov (Samuel West) and Sonya (Laura Carmichael) are all in love, with the past, with ideals and with each other. As their universe shifts around them they struggle to keep their emotions at bay in this exquisitely evoked comedy of the trials and tribulations of the human condition.

Directed by Lindsay Posner with designs by Christopher Oram, this new production is brought to you by the producers of ALL MY SONS and LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT.

The play portrays the visit of an elderly Professor and his glamorous, much younger second wife, Yelena, to the rural estate that supports their urban lifestyle. Two friends, Vanya, brother of the Professor's late first wife, who has long managed the estate, and Astrov, the local Doctor, both fall under Yelena's spell, while bemoaning the ennui of their provincial existence. Sonya, the Professor's daughter by his first wife, who has worked with Vanya to keep the estate going, meanwhile suffers from the awareness of her own lack of beauty and from her unrequited feelings for Dr. Astrov.

Anyone who has felt the whirlwind of love can't miss this first class revival of a treasured classic.

Book your Uncle Vanya tickets now!