Chekhov: Shorts (NHB Classic Plays)
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
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.'
The Bear, The Proposal and The Wedding are all farces on the preposterous busness of courtship and marriage. A Tragic Figure and Swansong 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. On the Evils of Tobacco 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.
Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was a Russian doctor, short-story writer, and playwright. Born in the port city of Taganrog, Chekhov was the third child of Pavel, a grocer and devout Christian, and Yevgeniya, a natural storyteller. His father, a violent and arrogant man, abused his wife and children and would serve as the inspiration for many of the writer’s most tyrannical and hypocritical characters. Chekhov studied at the Greek School in Taganrog, where he learned Ancient Greek. In 1876, his father’s debts forced the family to relocate to Moscow, where they lived in poverty while Anton remained in Taganrog to settle their finances and finish his studies. During this time, he worked odd jobs while reading extensively and composing his first written works. He joined his family in Moscow in 1879, pursuing a medical degree while writing short stories for entertainment and to support his parents and siblings. In 1876, after finishing his degree and contracting tuberculosis, he began writing for St. Petersburg’s Novoye Vremya, a popular paper which helped him to launch his literary career and gain financial independence. A friend and colleague of Leo Tolstoy, Maxim Gorky, and Ivan Bunin, Chekhov is remembered today for his skillful observations of everyday Russian life, his deeply psychological character studies, and his mastery of language and the rhythms of conversation.
Read more from Anton Chekhov
The Christmas Library: 250+ Essential Christmas Novels, Poems, Carols, Short Stories...by 100+ Authors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Very Russian Christmas: The Greatest Russian Holiday Stories of All Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Uncle Vanya Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lady with the Dog: And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Plays of Anton Chekhov Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Seagull Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Life in Medicine: A Literary Anthology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lady With The Dog Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cherry Orchard Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sea-Gull Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Anton Chekov Omnibus Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Duel: And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Greatest Christmas Stories of All Time: Timeless Classics That Celebrate the Season Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSelected Stories of Anton Chekhov Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Seagull Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uncle Vanya (NHB Classic Plays) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Big Book of Christmas Tales: 250+ Short Stories, Fairytales and Holiday Myths & Legends Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Darling and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUncle Vanya: A Play Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ivanov Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Schoolmistress: and Other Stories Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Bet: And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Schoolmistress and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUncle Vanya Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Chekhov
Related ebooks
A Country Scandal (Platonov) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFive Plays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Study Guide for Anton Chekhov's "Seagull" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDramatic Shorts: Volume 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThen What Happens?: Storytelling and Adapting for the Theatre Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cherry Orchard Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Three Sisters: A drama in four acts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ten Plays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Doll's House and Other Plays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Plays by Edward Albee: The Death of Bessie Smith, The Sandbox, The American Dream Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHuman Animals (NHB Modern Plays) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sea-Gull Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What Every Woman Knows Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne-Act Plays By Modern Authors Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHome (NHB Modern Plays) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChekhov's Early Plays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coming to Terms: American Plays & the Vietnam War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKanye the First (NHB Modern Plays) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClues to Acting Shakespeare Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Churchill: Shorts (NHB Modern Plays) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Sisters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Awakening of Spring: A Tragedy of Childhood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Study Guide for Sophie Treadwell's "Machinal" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI'll Leave It To You A Light Comedy In Three Acts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpeaking in Tongues (NHB Modern Plays) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMiss. Julie Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Getting, Keeping & Working with Your Acting Agent: The Compact Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThis Isn't 40 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Performing Arts For You
The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book: The Script Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Complete Sherlock Holmes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lucky Dog Lessons: From Renowned Expert Dog Trainer and Host of Lucky Dog: Reunions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hamlet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romeo and Juliet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fifth Mountain: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Trial Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hollywood's Dark History: Silver Screen Scandals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Robin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Comedy Bible: From Stand-up to Sitcom--The Comedy Writer's Ultimate "How To" Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diamond Eye: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Strange Loop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coreyography: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Best Women's Monologues from New Plays, 2020 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wuthering Heights Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How I Learned to Drive (Stand-Alone TCG Edition) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes: Revised and Complete Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Life in Parts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm Your Huckleberry: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Whale / A Bright New Boise Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mash: A Novel About Three Army Doctors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Dolls House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Midsummer Night's Dream, with line numbers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unsheltered: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Count Of Monte Cristo (Unabridged) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Chekhov
0 ratings0 reviews