Tab Article
ratings: ★★★★★ (4.8/5)
Genre: Drama, Classic Literature, Plays
Book Review:
To experience Anton Chekhov's great plays is to encounter the modern theatre at its most profound and moving. This Rupa Classics volume, containing his four masterpieces—The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard—is a perfect introduction to his genius and an essential addition to any library.
The Seagull (1895) opens the collection. It is a play about artists and their struggles, about love that is unrequited and dreams that are shattered. The young writer Treplev longs for a new kind of theatre, but his work is mocked. His beloved Nina is drawn away by a famous writer, Trigorin. The play is filled with the ache of disappointment, the pain of being misunderstood. And yet, it is also full of life and humor. It was the play that, in Stanislavsky's legendary production, established the Moscow Art Theatre and changed the course of modern drama.
Uncle Vanya (1900) is a masterpiece of quiet desperation. Set on a crumbling country estate, it tells the story of Vanya, a man who has sacrificed his life managing the estate for his brother-in-law, a retired professor. When the professor and his beautiful young wife arrive for a visit, the delicate balance of life on the estate is shattered. Vanya's disillusionment, his realization that he has wasted his life, is one of the most powerful and heartbreaking themes in all of literature.
Three Sisters (1901) is perhaps Chekhov's most beloved play. The Prozorov sisters—Olga, Masha, and Irina—long to escape their provincial town and return to Moscow, the city of their youth, where they believe life is truly lived. They dream, they hope, but Moscow remains forever out of reach. The play is a poignant meditation on the nature of longing, the passage of time, and the disappointments that life inevitably brings.
The Cherry Orchard (1904), Chekhov's final play, is a bittersweet masterpiece. The aristocratic Ranevskaya returns to her family estate, which is burdened by debt and about to be sold at auction. Her beloved cherry orchard, a symbol of her past, of beauty and tradition, is doomed. A wealthy merchant, Lopakhin, whose father was once a serf on the estate, advises her to cut down the orchard and build summer cottages. She cannot bring herself to do it. The play is a comedy (Chekhov insisted) but it is also a deeply moving tragedy about the passing of an era, the loss of beauty, and the inability to adapt to a changing world.
Chekhov's plays are not about dramatic action; they are about the inner lives of his characters. They are filled with a profound sympathy for human frailty, for people who are trapped by circumstance and unable to change their lives. They are plays about love, loss, and the search for meaning. They are as relevant today as they were a century ago.
This Rupa Classics edition is an excellent choice. It offers these four masterpieces in one affordable volume. The cover, with its simple design, is elegant and understated.
Plays: Chekhov is an essential read for anyone who loves theatre, for anyone who loves great literature. It is a collection that will stay with you, that will make you think, and that will break your heart in the most beautiful way. Highly recommended.
