Chekhov: The Early Plays (Platonov / Ivanov / The Wood Demon) [Paperback]

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (Author), Carol Rocamora (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1999

Discover the early works of the youthful Dr. Chekhov, whose passion for his two warring muses, comedy and tragedy, is nowhere more evident than in his first three full-length plays, Platanov, Ivanov, and The Wood Demon. These works are assembled in this third volume of the complete plays of Anton Chekhov, newly translated by Carol Rocamora and published in honor of Chekhov's centennial. Platonov, Chekhov's earliest, rarely translated play is adapted by Rocamora from its original, six-hour long, unfinished state into a playable comedy about a Russian Don Juan who copes with his boredom and ennui by victimizing every woman in the district. Ivanov, Chekhov's incarnation of the Russian Hamlet, is a marvel of a character study which has challenged actors from John Gielgud to Ralph Fiennes to Kevin Kline. And finally, The Wood Demon, Chekhov's earlier, comedic version of his masterpiece, Uncle Vanya. Actors, directors and lovers of Chekhov's plays will delight in discovering many of the settings, characters, and themes that later appear in his four major works. Theatres will find three exciting full-length plays infrequently performed in the United States which merit renewed attention.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

With this latest entry in the publisher's "Great Translations" series, esteemed director and Russian scholar Rocamora completes her translation of the Chekhov canon. Following Chekhov: Four Plays and Chekhov: The Vaudevilles, this work collects Chekhov's earliest full-length dramatic works (written in his twenties)--including a translation and an adaptation of the unwieldy Platonov, which in its unexpurgated form would take seven hours to perform; Ivanov, which has attracted significant contemporary production interest for the dramatic opportunities afforded its protagonist; and The Wood Demon, the comedic precursor to the seminal Uncle Vanya. Also included are a detailed introduction, a dramatic and biographical chronology, a glossary, a pronunciation guide, and a selected bibliography. The academic and professional theater community is beholden to Smith and Kraus for its singular commitment to dramatic literature and to Racamora, in particular, for her devotion to Chekhov. For all substantive theater and dramatic literature collections.
-Barry X. Miller, Austin P.L.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Smith & Kraus Pub Inc; 1st edition (July 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575251523
• ISBN-13: 978-1575251523
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,789,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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