Five late-19th-century Little Comedies reveal Chekhov at his sharpest: lovers quarrel, creditors threaten, weddings unravel and a harried lecturer cant stay on topic. In this collection, Richard Nelson, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonskys translations reveal these short plays to be rich human portraits: funny, bruising and unexpectedly tender. Adapted by Nelson to form a single evening, these plays honour vaudeville speed while digging into Chekhovs deeper themes of pride, longing, panic and the comedy of being alive.
With a preface by Pevear and a directors note by Nelson.
Includes:
The Bear
The Proposal
The Wedding
The Harmfulness of Tobacco
Swan Song
Richard Nelson, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky have co-translated Chekhovs The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya, The Seagull, Three Sisters, Ivanov, and Platonov as well as plays by Turgenev, Gogol and Bulgakov. Pevear and Volokhonsky are the foremost translators of classical Russian literature into English; they have been awarded the PEN translation Award twice. Nelson is a Tony and Olivier Award winning playwright and director and an Honorary Associate Artist of The Royal Shakespeare Company.
The Salamander Street Classics series offers classical plays in fresh, contemporary versions that preserve the writers structure, tone and imagery while connecting anew with todays actors and audiences.