Life Readers for 2019: Chekhov’s Plays

Illustration to “The Seagull” by Masha Shishova, 2010

Leo Tolstoy said in one interview that “to evoke a mood, you want a lyric poem. Dramatic forms serve, and ought to serve, quite different aims. In a dramatic form the author ought to deal with some problem that has yet to be solved…. But you won’t find anything of the kind in Chekhov.” In this criticism, Tolstoy hit on exactly those features that have made Chekhov’s plays the fundamental works of modern drama. Like lyric poems, they favor mood over plot; and when problems do appear, Chekhov never seems to endorse any solutions.

Our discussions aim to look at the interaction of Chekhov’s background, his experience of life, and his ideas with the poetics of his plays – their themes, imagery, construction, and philosophy, and thus to show the evolution of the playwright. We will examine Chekhov’s major plays from the humanistic point of view: his deep understanding of human psychology, of our place in relation to a social and economic context, of the passage of time, of life, death, and nature. We will explore the greatest controversy attached to Chekhov’s plays: whether the plays are tragic, gloomy, and melancholy, or whether they could be called comedies, enabling Chekhov’s tone to remain non-judgmental, detached, and reserved.

We will read the plays and watch Stage Russia theater performances and film adaptations available through Kanopy for the AHML cardholders.

Text List:
Five Plays by Anton Chekhov translated by Marina Brodskaya, Stanford University Press, 2011, ISBN 978-0-8047-6966-2

Play One: Ivanov – Thursday, January 17, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm / Board Room

Play Two: The Seagull – Thursday, February 21, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm / Cardinal Room
Stage Russia: https://ahml.kanopy.com/video/moscow-s-satirikon-theatre-s-seagull

Play Three: Uncle Vanya – Thursday, March 21, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm / Cardinal Room
Stage Russia: https://ahml.kanopy.com/video/moscows-vakhtangov-theatre-s-uncle-vanya
Film Version: https://ahml.kanopy.com/video/uncle-vanya
Also, please watch Vanya on 42nd Street directed by Andre Gregory, 1994. The film is available on DVD at the AHML, Amazon Prime, or Netflix.

Play Four: Three Sisters – Thursday, April 18, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm / Cardinal Room
Stage Russia: https://ahml.kanopy.com/video/novosibirsk-s-red-torch-theatre-s-three-sist
Film Version: https://ahml.kanopy.com/video/three-sisters

Play Five: The Cherry Orchard – Thursday, May 16, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm / Cardinal Room
Stage Russia: https://ahml.kanopy.com/video/cherry-orchard-0
Film Version: https://ahml.kanopy.com/video/cherry-orchard