With his father still struggling financially, Chekhov supported the family with his freelance writing, producing hundreds of short comic pieces under a pen name for local magazines. Chekhov finally joined his family in Moscow in 1879 and enrolled at medical school. When Pavel’s business failed in 1875, he took the family to Moscow to look for other work while Chekhov remained in Taganrog until he finished his studies. His father, Pavel, was a grocer with frequent money troubles his mother, Yevgeniya, shared her love of storytelling with Chekhov and his five siblings. Youth and EducationĪnton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on January 29, 1860, in Taganrog, Russia. Chekhov died of tuberculosis on July 15, 1904, in Badenweiler, Germany. What was different about his plays that changed the way we view theatre? Why are they billed as “comedies” when the characters are so unrelentingly unhappy? How are his portraits of the idle Russian aristocracy at the turn of the 20th century still relevant today? Nick and I and try to answer these questions, and share our love of Uncle Vanya and Chekhov.įind full show notes at stories such as 'The Steppe' and 'The Lady with the Dog,' and plays such as The Seagull and Uncle Vanya, Anton Chekhov emphasized the depths of human nature, the hidden significance of everyday events and the fine line between comedy and tragedy. Yet the four great plays that followed sealed Chekhov’s reputation as one of the fathers of modern drama. The playwright withdrew the play and didn’t write another play for five years. When in 1889 Chekhov presented the first version of the play that would eventually become Uncle Vanya it was a devastating failure.

To coincide with Irish playwright Conor McPherson’s new adaptation of the Chekhov classic, and its West End run, we talk with his publisher Nick Hern. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact.

Each episode we choose a single play – often one that is on stage somewhere in the UK – and we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays.

Guest: Nick Hern, Founder of Nick Hern Books and publisher of Conor McPherson’s new adaptation of the Chekhov classic. Episode 002: Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov

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