Uncle Vanya

by Anton Chekhov

Overview

This structurally and psychologically compact drama takes place on an estate in 19th-century Russia, exploring the complex interrelationships between a retired professor, his second wife, and the daughter and brother-in-law from his first marriage. Interwoven themes of weakness, delusion, and despair–balanced by an underlying message of courage and hope–make this one of the most expressive of Chekhov's works.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781396324420
Publisher:	Left of Brain Books
Publication date:	01/29/2024
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.22(d)

About the Author

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), Russian physician, dramatist and author, is considered to be one of the greatest writers of short stories and modern drama. Born in Taganrog, a port town near the Black Sea, he attended medical school at Moscow University. He began writing to supplement his income, writing short humorous sketches of contemporary Russian life. A successful literary careered followed, before his premature death of TB at the age of 44. He is best-remembered for his four dramatic masterpieces: The Seagull (1896), Uncle Vanya (1899), Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904).

Michael Frayn was born in London in 1933 and began his career as a journalist on the Guardian and the Observer. He has written seventeen plays, including Noises Off, Copenhagen, and Democracy, translated Chekhov's last four plays, and adapted his first as Wild Honey. His screenplays include Clockwise, starring John Cleese, and among his eleven novels are The Tin Men, Towards the End of the Morning, Headlong, Spies, and Skios. Collections of articles include Collected Columns, Stage Directions, and Travels with a Typewriter. He has also published two philosophical works, Constructions and The Human Touch, and a memoir, My Father's Fortune. His most recent publications are three collections of short entertainments, Matchbox Theatre, Pocket Playhouse, and Magic Mobile. He is married to the writer Claire Tomalin.

Editorial Reviews

boredom, waste, loss and wretchedness are seldom so eloquent and engaging.” —Georgina Brown, Mail on Sunday

“Nobody could write about underdogs as well as Chekov. He was their chronicler, their unsentimental spokesman, their tactful psychoanalyst.” —John Peter, Sunday Times

From the Publisher

"Nobody quite walks the tightrope between comedy and tragedy with the aplomb of Chekhov… in McPherson's version, more than any others I've seen, the women get to deliver the emotional gut-punches that balance the humour."

Broadway World

"[Conor McPherson's adaptation is] perfectly weighted... does not radically reinvent or revolutionise Chekov's 19th-century story. It returns us to the great, mournful spirit of Chekhov's tale about unrequited love, ageing and disappointment in middle-age, while giving it a sleeker, modern beat. McPherson's script has a stripped, vivid simplicity which quickens the pace of the drama... Every character is fully realised, including the ancillary roles that bring more than comic relief... a perfect tragicomedy."

Guardian

"A Vanya for our times."

Evening Standard

"As accessible as a TV drama, without ever betraying the great, melancholy, insightful soul that has made the play last for as long as it has. It is radical and revelatory without ever being gimmicky or insensitive… McPherson pulls off a feat of magical reinvention, and allows us to see the play anew."

WhatsOnStage

"McPherson's new adaptation feels almost impossibly contemporary in the way it packs in so much lust, wit, rage and regret."

The Times

"Succeeds resoundingly in making the turn-of-the-20th-century cares of the original resonate today… the contemporary relevance is startling."

The Arts Desk

"Pevear and Volokhonsky are at once scrupulous translators and vivid stylists of English."

New Yorker

"Pevear and Volokhonsky are at once scrupulous translators and vivid stylists of English."

New Yorker