Chekhov Shorts

Synopsis

This collection features Chekhov's best-known short plays in brand new translations: three farces, two comic duologues and a monologue, all of them referred to by Chekhov as 'vaudevilles' and all written in the late 1880s before any of his great full-length plays.

'I don't much care for theatre,' he wrote at the time, 'but I do enjoy vaudevilles.'

<i>The Bear</i>, <i>The Proposal</i> and <i>The Wedding</i> are all farces on the preposterous busness of courtship and marriage.

<i>A Tragic Figure</i> and <i>Swansong</i> are comic duologues: one about a civil servant sweltering in Moscow coping with the incessant demands of his family from their summer dacha, the other about a melancholy old actor perked up by memories of past glories.

<i>On the Evils of Tobacco</i> is a bittersweet monologue in which a scientific lecture is hijacked by thoughts of domestic misery.

These accurate and actable translations by Chekhov expert Stephen Mulrine reveal a dramatist revelling in the broad comedy of human behaviour, a comedy which was refined in his later masterpieces.

Highly entertaining, these comic shorts offer a fascinating insight into Chekhov's development as a dramatist, and will provide actors at any level - student, amateur or professional - with an ideal showcase.

This edition also includes an introduction, a chronology of key dates, and a pronunciation guide.

Themes

• Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich , 1860-1904
• PG3456.A13 M87 2014