Description: A Student Edition of this acclaimed adaptation, looking at how Chekhov's original play has been transposed to an African context, the Biafran War and how different productions of have dealt with the dramaturgical challenges.
Brief description: Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), Russian physician, dramatist and author, is considered to be one of the greatest writers of short stories and modern drama. Born in Taganrog, a port town near the Black Sea, he attended medical school at Moscow University. He began writing to supplement his income, writing short humorous sketches of contemporary Russian life. A successful literary careered followed, before his premature death of TB at the age of 44. He is best-remembered for his four dramatic masterpieces: The Seagull (1896), Uncle Vanya (1899), Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904).
Review Quotes:
"A startlingly vivid account of the civil war and a direct assault on British neocolonialism ... Ellams brilliantly uses the context to sharpen specific relationships ... Above all, the play offers a searing attack on British responsibility for the war dating to the time when they created Nigeria out of 250 ethnic groups and languages." --Guardian
"The new setting gives the play a freshness and punch that makes its humane complications and disappointments live and breathe in new air ... It's brave enough to be funny too; the comedy makes the tragedy weigh all the more heavily when it arrives ... Each character is delicately and carefully fitted into this new setting ... A smart and sophisticated rethinking ... provoking new thoughts and old feelings in a very Chekovian way." --Whatsonstage "Proof that Inua Ellams is one of our most exciting playwrights" --Daily Telegraph