Anton Chekhov's 19th-century comedy-drama Uncle Vanya translates neatly to the Outback in this captivating Australian version of the story, written and directed by Michael Blakemore. The setting is a sheep farm just after World War One: Jack (John Hargreaves) and his niece, Sally (Kerry Fox), find their quiet country life noisily disrupted by new arrivals from London - in the form of Jack's self-satisfied brother-in-law Alex (Blakemore himself, splendidly odious), a theatre critic, and his elegant young wife, Deborah (Greta Scacchi). Naturally, town and country (and, symbolically, England and Australia) don't mix, in what becomes a whirlpool of emotions, further stirred up by the presence of the attractive local doctor (Sam Neill). The drama is punctuated with delightful humour and well served by the whole cast as well as top-notch production values.

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