Over the weekend, the Pioneer Players performed their production of “Life Sucks” written by Aaron Posner and vaguely adapted from “Uncle Vanya” by Anton Chekhov. “Life Sucks” follows a group of old friends, ex-lovers, estranged in-laws and lifelong enemies as they all wrestle with the complexity of living.

“Life Sucks” is described as a “tragicomedy” that tackles themes of love, aging and trying to find contentment when everything else is miserable. The comedic aspect deals with the characters constantly complaining about how hard their life is, while at the same time not realizing they are their own biggest detriment.

Overall, Platteville’s production of “Life Sucks” was wonderful with strong performances from every single one of the cast members. It is nihilistic, complex and everyone did a great job handling both the heavy subject matter as well as the comedic aspects of the play. Through several asides with the main characters, the audience can see a much deeper look into the characters’ lives and notice they are much more self-aware than previously thought.

“Life Sucks” is an extremely intelligent reimagining of Chekov’s “Uncle Vanya” that still manages to keep the essence of the original production. In the beginning of the play, the characters are introduced through their problems, and by the end of it, little to none of their problems have gotten any better.

Throughout the performance, the argument of whether life actually sucks is raised many times. Characters spend nearly the entirety of the play debating this very question. In the end, this question remains unanswered, but comes to the potential conclusion that “life is just life.”