We stride up a dusty track to The Cedars as the mercury nudges 40 degrees. We are welcomed, yes, warmly, offered refreshments, and invited to sit under the shade of giant pines until the show starts. It gives us a moment to reflect on this incredible 60-hectare heritage property in Hahndorf – the Heysen family home – that is arguably Australia’s most underrated tourist attraction. This is where we will meet Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya.

Uncle Vanya. Photo supplied

The Cedars, we are to learn, attracts celebrity – Sir Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Marcel Marceau, Anna Pavlova and Dame Nellie Melba all came to pass some time in the company of their friend, Sir Hans Heysen. During the four acts of Uncle Vanya over two days, there are nearly as many famous faces in the small audience as vodka shots consumed in the entire play. Word seems to have spread early and widely – this English language Uncle Vanya is unlike any other.

Uncle Vanya is a play about claustrophobia, so when Act I commences with afternoon tea at the bottom of the vast garden and it quickly becomes obvious that the extraordinary mise-en-scène...