Vera or The Nihilists By Oscar WildeVera or The Nihilists is a play by Oscar Wilde. It is a melodramatic tragedy set in Russia and is loosely based on the life of Vera Zasulich. It was Wildes first play and the first to be performed. In 1880 with only a few copies privately printed arrangements were made with noted actresses for a production in the United Kingdom but this never materialized. The first public performance was in New York City in 1883 at the Union Square Theatre based on revisions