Product Description

A Methuen Student Edition of Chekhov's classic play in Michael Frayn's acclaimed translation '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 MailWhen it opened in St Petersburg in 1896, The Seagull survived only five performances after a disastrous first night. Two years later it was revived by Nemirovich-Danchenko at the newly-founded Moscow Art Theatre with Stanslasky as Trigorin and was an immediate success. Checkhov's description of the play was characteristically self-mocking: "A comedy - 3F, 6M, four acts, rural scenery (a view over a lake); much talk of literature, little action, five bushels of love".Michael Frayn's translation was commissioned by the Oxford Playhouse Company.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42687 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-25
• Original language: Russian
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 90 pages

John Peter, Sunday Times
'The play has been flooded with light, like a room with the curtains drawn back'

Jack Tinker, Daily Mail
'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 ...'

Customer Reviews

The Best Version in English
I've read several versions of Chekhov's masterpiece "The Seagull", and Frayn's version is by far the best. Despite not having read it in it's original language, this version has layers of subtext with pure realism that would have made him proud. It's also one of the few versions that makes sense of the names (many versions have a variety of names) which makes it easier to understand for someone who has not studied his works.

This version (Methuen Student Edition) is accompanied by an interesting, if slightly short, introduction by the translator, and has a useful glossary and history of Chekhov's life. Definitely a good version to buy, especially for someone reading it for the first time.