Vermont Repertory Theatre to Bring Chekhov’s UNCLE VANYA to Burlington's Black Box Theatre

Vermont Repertory Theatre will present a bold and traditional staging of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya this winter, with the production running February 28 through March 7, 2026 at the Black Box Theatre at Main Street Landing in Burlington.

Directed by Michael Fidler-acclaimed for last season's Sweeney Todd and The Miser-the production promises a compelling encounter with one of the great masterpieces of European theatre.

Vermont Rep has chosen David Mamet's spare and muscular adaptation of Uncle Vanya, a choice rooted with an intriguing Vermont connection. Mamet studied at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont-now home to Jesse Cooper, who takes on the title role of Vanya in this production.

Beyond that local resonance, Mamet's adaptation has been selected because it preserves the simplicity and restraint of Chekhov's language. Chekhov famously believed that drama lives not in speeches or declarations, but in what is left unsaid-in the spaces between the lines. Mamet's text gives those silences room to breathe, allowing the emotional weight of the play to emerge naturally, without dramatic embellishment.

Uncle Vanya stands as a cornerstone of the modern theatrical tradition and one of the earliest works written explicitly for the expression of naturalism. Its original 1899 production was directed by Konstantin Stanislavsky, who is widely credited with the development of method acting. Stanislavsky himself played Doctor Astrov, a role taken on in Vermont Rep's production by Kyle Ferguson-recognized locally for his powerful performance as Sweeney Todd with Vermont Rep in 2024.

True to its mission, Vermont Repertory Theatre is presenting the play as it was intended-without contemporary reimagining. Central to this approach is what will be the most ambitious set the company has attempted. Chekhov wanted audiences to feel as though they were quietly observing real life through an unseen "fourth wall", and Vermont Rep is taking that idea literally-constructing a complete world onstage, with the audience peering in through a huge metaphorical and physical window.

Despite its reputation for melancholy and existential ennui, Uncle Vanya is also, undeniably, funny. Chekhov himself insisted he had written a comedy, much to Stanislavsky's frustration, who saw the play as a tragedy. That debate has continued for more than a century, and this production embraces both sides of the argument.

"The audience will be very surprised at how much they are laughing," said Fidler.