The Seagull

by Anton Chekhov, Richard Nelson (Translator), Richard Pevear (Translator), Larissa Volokhonsky (Translator)

Overview

When it opened in St Petersburg in 1896, The Seagull survived only five performances after a disastrous first night. Two years later it was revived by Nemirovich-Danchenko at the newly-founded Moscow Art Theatre, with Stanislavsky as Trigorin, and was an immediate success, changing for ever the nature and possibilities of drama. Chekhov's description of the play was characteristically self-mocking: 'A comedy - three f., six m., four acts, rural scenery (a view over a lake); much talk of literature, little action, five bushels of love'.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781559365499
Publisher:	Theatre Communications Group
Publication date:	11/21/2017
Series:	TCG Classic Russian Drama Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	1,150,669
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Anton Chekhov was born on January 29, 1860 in Taganrog, Russia. He graduated from the University of Moscow in 1884. Chekhov died of tuberculosis in Germany on July 14, 1904, shortly after his marriage to actress Olga Knipper, and was buried in Moscow.

Laurence Senelick is the Fletcher Professor of Drama and Oratory at Tufts University and author of more than a dozen books, including the award-winning The Chekhov Theatre and The Changing Room: Sex, Drag, and the Theatre. He is director of his own translations of Gogol’s The Inspector General (1998) and Euripides’ The Bakkhai (2001).

Table of Contents

	Anton Chekhov: 1860-1904	v
	Plot	xi
	Commentary	xx
	The Seagull in context	xx
	The seagull and the enchanted lake	xxv
	The play-within-the-play	xxviii
	Time and memory; youth and age; sleep and dream	xxxiii
	Art and life; love and destruction	xxxvi
	Comedy or tragedy?	xxxix
	Problems of translation	xli
	Critical perspectives	xlvi
	The Seagull in production	liv
	Further Reading	lxxvii
	Translator's Introduction	lxxix
	A Note on the Translation	xciii
	Pronunciation of the Names	xcvii
	The Seagull	1
	Notes	68

Editorial Reviews

The play has been flooded with light, like a room with the curtains drawn back.” —John Peter, Sunday Times

“The direct simplicity of this new translation … uncovers not only the nerve endings of Chekhov's restless malcontents but also their comic absurdities. It is, as he always intended, actually funny.” —Jack Tinker, Daily Mail

From the Publisher

Attractively printed with brightly colored covers..... Whatever is currently on your library's shelves, these adaptations would be an exciting addition.

Kliatt

With standouts Calista Flockhart and T.R. Knight, this full-cast performance transforms a dark drama marked by unfulfilled and mislaid passions into a hypnotic look at the lives of deeply flawed and painfully recognizable characters. Kosta loves Nina. Nina loves Trigorin. Trigorin is happily seduced by Nina's youth and adoration. And then there's Irina, mother of Kosta, lover of Trigorin, and leading lady of the Russian stage; she, too, loves adoration—and herself. As Kosta, T.R. Knight’s light, energetic voice conveys the audacity of youth but eventually deepens and slows in response to repeated rejection. Using her voice to suggest seduction and control, Calista Flockhart is magnetic as Irina. Listeners will be mesmerized. A.S. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2014 - AudioFile