The Seagull

by Anton Chekhov, John Donnelly (Translator)

Overview

- Idea for a story. A beautiful young girl lives by a lake all her life. She loves this lake. She's happy and free, like that bird was once. Then a man comes along and for no reason at all... what do you think he does?

- He destroys her.

A story about how we make stories, a story about unrequited love, The Seagull is one of the great plays of the modern era. Chekhov explores emotion and creativity with the clarity of a doctor and the heart of a poet.

John Donnelly's version of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull premiered in a Headlong and The Nuffield, Southampton co-production, in association with Derby Playhouse. The play opened in April 2013, followed by a UK tour.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780571307241
Publisher:	Faber and Faber
Publication date:	04/30/2013
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	176 KB
Age Range:	12 Years

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