Chekhov for the 21st Century

2015

If there were a robust sector of theatre history based on stories of what might have been, the thwarted collaborations of Michael Chekhov and Vsevolod Meyerhold would surely have figured strongly. Two of the most celebrated artists to emerge from the Stanislavsky tradition, their paths were forcibly diverted from one another by cultural and political developments in Moscow after the Russian revolution in 1917. Chekhov left Russia eleven years later; Meyerhold, as is well known, was never allowed to follow him, although he is reported to have rejected one opportunity to emigrate whilst on tour in Berlin in 1930, claiming his return was a "matter of honour" (Braun 1991: 261). The most tantalizing of these might-have-been alliances is sketched by Chekhov himself in his autobiography, Life and Encounters: Meyerhold had often invited me to act in his theatre during my time in Moscow. I had always wanted to work on a role under his direction. This time he made a new proposal. Knowing my love of Hamlet, he told me that he intended to stage the tragedy on his return to Moscow. He started to tell me his plan for staging it, and seeing that I was listening so intensely, he

Choice Reviews Online, 2013

Anton Chekhov

Stanislavski Studies, 2019

Robin Beth Levenson's Acting Chekhov In Translation: 4 Plays, 100 Ways brings together three distinct disciplines: acting theory/methodology; the art and craft of translation; and a dramaturgical analysis of Anton Chekhov's last four plays. Her central premise is that the concept of Action, as understood by directors and actors during the practical staging of dramatic texts in the theatre, is a particularly useful (even essential) frame for the translator/interpreter of plays. If "Playscripts" are "blueprints for performance" rather than simply self-contained works of literature, then the translator of a dramatic text has to consider far more than language alone. What is being translated is an entire culture and world view, and what is produced by the translator/adaptor is "poetry of the theatre" rather than simply "poetry in the theatre". Levenson unpicks the tricky distinctions between "translations"; "adaptations"; and "versions"from the literal, word for word, translation of the original text by a native speaker of the source language, to the free reimagining of the original story by a playwright, whose own artistic creation can be said to be a new piece of work, "based on" the source play. Levenson draws on a huge number of secondary sources across disciplinesparticularly in relation to the theory and practice of translationand applies this, in conjunction with established acting theory 1 , to the comparative analysis of 145 translations of Chekhov's four final masterpieces. The book is notionally divided into four main sections: the first three chapters examine the art and craft of translation from various points of view; chapter four focusses on acting theory and practice, specifically the concept of Action; chapter five explores Chekhov's dramaturgy; and chapters six to nine present a comparative study of 145 English translations of Chekhov's four major plays (a play per chapter). Chapter ten-A Body of Beautyacts as a coda, drawing together the separate strands of Levenson's thesis in order to make explicit her underlying premise: that an understanding of Action, as used by theatre practitioners, is essential when considering the relative merits of disparate translations of Chekhov's work. Each chapter ends with a list of references, all of which are included in the final bibliography, followed by two very useful appendices: A Glossary of the acting terms used, and their relationship to the key concept of Action; and a list of the 145 translations/adaptations/versions cited by the author. There is also a contextualizing Introduction and standard academic Index. This layout means that Levenson's text can act as a useful reference tool, where the reader/practitioner can CONTACT Julian Jones

Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences, 2015

The subject of the study is an analysis of Anthon Chekhov's selected tales which contain a convergence of fiction. The topic of unfulfilled fate seems to be a leading theme in Chekhov's prose of the 1890s. The characters of the analyzed texts share the author's opinion that indifference, everyday life, narrowmindness influence the fate not less than regular crimes or wicked deeds. In those narrations anyone should notice the development of Chekhov's attitude to happiness which underlines the influence of the surrounding/environment on shaping human awareness. He claims that it is impossible to gain satisfaction without opposing to shallow opinions and the devoidness of ideas which are characteristic attributes of a petty bourgeoisie, the best example of whom are the characters' stories.

One of Chekhov's favorite plots in his early stories involves a clash between two kinds of characters, one sensitive, excitable, and desperate for recognition, the other reserved and emotionally inaccessible. When the little clerk, Chervyakov, in "Death of a Civil Servant" ("Smert' chinovnika," 1883), sneezes on an important general, the general is unperturbed and hardly notices the offense. Chervyakov, however, is horrified by the audacity of his act, and he apologizes profusely, mystified and alarmed by the general's indifference. Eventually, on his sixth apology, he succeeds in irritating the general and eliciting the rebuke "Get lost!" (Poshel von!), which causes the overwrought Chervyakov to die from terror and humiliation. 1 Something in the dynamic between these two characters-something more basic than the social power imbalance that divides thempersistently reemerges as a psychological pattern among Chekhov's many characterizations. From the early 1880s onward these two individuals keep attempting to communicate-one trembling, weeping, and struggling for justice within an enclosed sphere of concerns, while the other observes the comedy, without much interest, from outside. This article will examine how the simple dramatic conflict between engaged and detached characters in many of the early stories anticipates a more philosophically complex psychological dualism that appears in the stories of the 1890s. 2 Through an analysis of these "enemies"-first as distinct characters in conflict and then as warring identities within the individual-I shall examine how Chekhov conceived of a complex architecture for the self over the span of his career, how these attitudes in conflict in his early works initiate a meditation on the nature of compassion and the problem of the structure of the human personality. By following the development of this conflict, we can observe how Chekhov engaged and reenvisioned the larger European tradition of psychological dualism and personal fragmentation that he inherited at the end of the nineteenth century.

2016

This thesis is a socio-political analysis of the United Kingdom's contemporary national identity, as expressed through an intercultural examination of eight Anton Chekhov's productions presented in the country between 2009 and 2011, characterised by their aesthetic and socio-political diversity. The introduction presents a theoretical exploration and definition of the notions of interculturalism and national identity, which serve as the theoretical pillars of this work. A historical contextualisation summarises the reception, assimilation and reinterpretation processes of British Chekhovian discourses from the early 20 th century onwards, as well as the urban and regional transformations that the country experienced during the same time frame. The first chapter explores traditional views of national identity through the analysis of double-bill performances, connecting Chekhov's pieces to 'national' works by Terence Rattigan and William Shakespeare. The second chapter discuses international discourses and their influence in the creation of local imaginaries, using foreign Chekhovian productions presented on the British stage to scrutinise reception processes, importation models and the power of sponsors and festivals. The third chapter approaches Scottish and female discourses, emphasising their 'otherness' and value in the construction of more plural notions of national identity, through rewritings of the Russian author done by playwrights born and raised within the UK. The fourth chapter reflects on politically progressive and intercultural understandings of nation through new British experimental performances inspired by Chekhov's iconographies and symbolisms. Finally, the conclusion reexamines Chekhovian dramaturgy, national identity and interculturalism, proposing an abstract outline to understand processes of reception, assimilation and/or reinterpretation of foreign dramatic discourses within any given geographical construct, and highlighting the importance of building a plural and hybrid post-Brexit British society, focused on a constant intercultural negotiation between superimposing cultural forces. Far from being a personal accomplishment, a PhD is the result of the support of colleagues and friends. I'd like to thank my supervisors, Susan Painter, Joshua Abrams and Graham White, without whose constant encouragement this thesis would have never been finished; to my dear girlfriend Theodora Thomadakis, my partner in crime and life, whose love (and that of her entire wonderful family) helped me throughout the most difficult stages of this process, and whose insightful intellectual comments enriched every chapter of this text; to my parents Diego Arboleda and Diana Lozada, my brother Sebastián Arboleda, and the rest of my family, who endured my absences from many special occasions, showered me with constant support and believed in me every step of the way; to Claudia Montilla and Ricardo Camacho, two of my lecturers during my undergraduate years, who gave me the opportunity to study abroad and defined the course of my academic career; to Los Andes University, which provided me with the necessary time to complete my studies; and to the Graduate School and the department of Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies of Roehampton University, which despite a myriad of personal and academic problems allowed me finish this creation. Thank you all for trusting me despite the adversities. "beyond the Festival" and finally "seen by 21,000 people" (dramthinkspeak, 2010). This degree of success was even more remarkable when considering that, instead of a more lineal or 'traditional' tone, an abstract and immersive theatrical experience was proposed, filled with silent and melancholy dramatic sketches, art performances, beautifully-lit rooms, projections and a vast array of objects that carried symbolic meanings. Ticket-holders were allowed to wander around without time constraints or a specific linear path, offering them the opportunity to explore a building that, between its opening in "12 September 1931" and its closure in 2007, had been "the largest department store in Brighton" and an integral part of the "growth of the cooperative movement" during the 1920s and 1930s (Carder, 1990). It was, in other words, a derelict symbol of a past era that, when combined with the visual imagination and sense of adventure of the show, served as a rich vessel for issues such as national identity, memory and socio-political transformations. 6 The fact that the dilapidated building possessed many symbolisms implied by the cherry orchard in the original 1904 play also reflected, in the 150 th anniversary of his birth, the long lasting strength of Chekhov's dramas inside the realm of British theatre. 1 Beyond a respect for his dramatic achievements, and his position as a canonical author inside Western drama's history, his recurrent presence on the national stage has come to represent an element that will be central to the present work: the complex and ever-changing transformations of the country's notion of national identity. This might seem, at first sight, a strange proposition: the creations of a 'foreign' writer, who only managed to complete some comic one-act satires and a handful of full-length plays before his untimely death from tuberculosis in 1904 at the age of 44, do not seem to be after all ideal candidates to represent the country in the same way as, say, the historical dramas of Shakespeare or the 'comedies of menace' by Pinter. Due to his origin, how could his dramas embrace the diversities of a society that, among other important factors, is still trying to balance its Imperial past and a present of diverse and clashing voices? The answer lies, first, in the way this question paralleled Russia's situation at the end of the 19 th and beginning of the 20 th century, when Chekhov's original writing took place (one of many connections between Russia and the United Kingdom [UK] that will be developed throughout the present work); and second, in a process of assimilation that embraced the social analysis and the polyphonic constructions present in the original works of the Russian writer and turned them in the past 80 years into expressions of British politic-aesthetic tensions, presenting on stage the uneasy relationships between the discourses of different historical periods. This was reinforced, perhaps, by their original existence in a different language: in their constant reinterpretations, their transmutations generated by the dissimilar translations used by review of the evolution of the understanding of these two terms, ending with the presentation of the definitions that will be primarily used during the rest of this thesis. 2. Literature review (I): nation and national identity 'National identity' is a slippery concept whose signification within the UK, as in every other territory described by its members as a 'nation', is today the centre of many discussions: whether through press articles, television programmes or day-today conversations, it continues to create heated debates among the population in a context of increasing immigration, globalisation, questions about devolution, belonging to the European Union and economic instability. To discover the historical origins and meanings of these two notions, however, it is first necessary to understand that, despite the fact that both of them are sometimes connected to notions of 'tradition', they are relatively recent terms. Hans Kohn, in his now classic book The Idea of Nationalism (published in 1944), described how "nationalism as we understand it is no older than the second half of the eighteen century", propelled by "the ideas of popular sovereignty (...), a complete revision of the position of ruler and ruled, of classes and castes" that led to a more secular society "with the help of a new natural science and of natural law as understood by Grotins and Locke" (Kohn, 2008: 3). This does not mean that this notion appeared out of nowhere, following an unexpected burst of historical creativity: as Kohn himself pointed out, "like all historical movements, nationalism has its roots deep in the past (...); the conditions which made its emergence possible had matured for centuries before they converged at its formation" (Kohn, 2008: 3). Later theorists of nation, like Anthony D. Smith, pointed out how many latter-day nations "have been formed in the first place around a dominant ethnie, which annexed or attracted other ethnies or ethnic fragments into the state to which it gave a name and a cultural charter" (Smith, 1991: 39); an example being the "English (Anglo-Norman) 10 state, which under Edward I (…) expanded into Wales, destroying the Welsh kingdoms and bringing most Welshmen into the realm as a peripheral cultural community under the domination of the English state" (Smith, 1991: 39). Not that this immediately led to the construction of nations: as Timothy Brennan explains in The National Longing for Form, with the important precedent of the "Cromwellian forces of the English Civil War", where "the aspirations of the middle classes for 'free expression', 'self-assertion', and freedom" created an incipient "nationalist ethos", only until during the Enlightenment a succession of historical and cultural factors led to the establishment of more coherent and widespread notions of national identity (Brennan, 1993: 52). In his political treaties and essays written in the second half of the 18 th century, Jean-Jacques Rousseau first developed the "concept of the collective personality of the 'people', the unity and common destiny of a 'community' whose cohesiveness relied upon forces emanating from the ground up, and which, being natural, encompassed all" (Brennan, 1993: 52): a view that carried an intrinsic ethical connotation and was very much connected to an individual, rational notion of civic duty. In other words, society was still seen more as the result...

Wiener Slavistisches Jahrbuch, 2019

Despite Joseph Brodsky’s apparent dislike of the Russian turn-of-the-century classic, in 1993 he wrote a poem titled in English: “Homage to Chekhov.” The poem, which stylizes the atmosphere of some of Chekhov’s works has since puzzled several Brodsky scholars. The central question of the scholarly debate has been whether Brodsky sought to pay the playwright a belated homage or was instead deliberately mocking Chekhov in a parody. This article takes another stab at the mystery adopting a new approach: it looks for the solution in the poem itself, rather than in the history of Brodsky’s dislike of Chekhov or in his polemics with literary critics. My article identifies a number of Chekhovian subtexts in the poem and explains how exactly Brodsky achieves the effect of a Chekhov pastiche here. It also draws a connection between “Homage to Chekhov” and some of Brodsky’s poems dedicated to the theme of fin de siècle. The article puts forth a hypothesis: Brodsky did not think he would live to see the millennium and this brought him closer to Chekhov, who did not live to witness the start of WWI – the “actual” beginning of the 20th century. I argue that by 1993 Brodsky had reached the age when he could better appreciate Chekhov’s lack of resolve. I show that the figure of Erlich in the poem is a stand-in for Brodsky himself. That Brodsky depicted himself behind the mask of a Chekhovian character seems to indicate that around the end of his life the notoriously unpredictable poet might have experienced a change of heart about Chekhov.