Anton Chekhov: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

BBC radio productions of seven of Anton Chekhov's finest plays. A master of Russian realism, Anton Chekhov is renowned for his meticulously observed plays and short stories exploring the human condition, in all its joys and sorrows. Included here are six of his best-known dramas, as well as Michael Frayn's adaptation of Wild Honey. Wild Honey Village schoolmaster Platonov has it all - wit, intelligence, a comfortable and respectable life in provincial Russia, and the attentions of four...

BBC radio productions of seven of Anton Chekhov's finest plays. A master of Russian realism, Anton Chekhov is renowned for his meticulously observed plays and short stories exploring the human condition, in all its joys and sorrows. Included here are six of his best-known dramas, as well as Michael Frayn's adaptation of Wild Honey. Wild Honey Village schoolmaster Platonov has it all - wit, intelligence, a comfortable and respectable life in provincial Russia, and the attentions of four beautiful women - one of whom is his devoted wife. As summer arrives and the seasonal festivities commence, the rapidly intensifying heat makes everyone giddy with sunlight, vodka and passion. Chehov's play was discovered in a bank vault in 1920, 16 years after his death - with the title page of the play missing, leading to its rather varied history of titles. The original piece was nearly six hours long and Michael Frayn has done a masterful job of turning the work into something quintessentially Chekhovian. Platonov ...... David Tennant Anna Petrovna ...... Sasha Behar Dr Triletzky ...... Elliot Levey Sasha ...... Olivia Darnley Sofya ...... Eva Feiler Sergey ...... John Hollingworth Osip ...... Forbes Masson Colonel Triletzky ...... Rupert Vansittart Porfiry Semyonovich Glagolyev ...... Christian Rodska Gerasim Kuzmich Petrin ...... Ben Onwukwe Marko ...... Nigel Cooke Marya Yefimovna Grekova ...... Prisca Bakare Adapted by Michael Frayn. Director: Clive Brill First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2018. The Seagull Chekhov's classic play is transposed to the West of Ireland in 1896. Social unrest and a crumbling society form the background to personal turmoil as Isobel Desmond, great actress of the London stage, returns to her Irish estate and a family trapped in a complex and vicious circle. Isobel Desmon ... Anna Massey Aston ... Alan Rickman Constantine ... Dominic Guard Lily ... Fiona Victory Dr Hickey ... T.P. McKenna Pauline ... Kate Binchy Peter ... Alan MacNaughtan Mary ... Maggie McCarthy James ... Sean Barret Gregory ... Tony Doyle Jack ... Breffni McKenna Dramatised by Thomas Kilroy Directed by David Hitchinson First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1987. The Cherry Orchard Ranyevskya returns to the family estate after 5 years in Paris to face seemingly insurmountable debts. Local businessman Lopakhin is keen to offer her a way out but there'll be a price to pay. Ranyevskya ..... Emma Fielding Lopakhin ..... Neil Dudgeon Anya ..... Lucy Doyle Varya ..... Joan Iyiola Gayev ..... Dominic Coleman Peter ..... Nicholas Prasad Pishchik ..... Tony Turner Charlotte ..... Alexandra Constantinidi Yepikhodov ..... Matthew Wilson Dunyasha ..... Saffron Coomber Yasha ..... Liam Lau Fernandez Firs ..... Sean Murray The Tramp ..... Lewis Bray Dramatised by Katherine Tozer Directed by Toby Swift First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in November 2018 Three Sisters Three sisters living in a garrison town in provincial Russia dream of the day that they will return to their home city of Moscow. Maybe then their lives will really start. But in Anton Chekhov's poignant meditation on love and longing, somehow real life keeps getting in the way. Olga ... Hattie Morahan Masha ... Scarlett Alice Johnson Irina ... Flora Spencer-Longhurst Andrei ... Alex Waldmann Dr Chebutykin ... Robert Pugh Colonel Vershinin ... Elliot Cowan Baron Tuzenbach ... Mark Edel-Hunt Captain Solyony ... Jonathan Forbes Natasha ... Leila Crerar Kulygin ... Sion Pritchard Anfisa ... Shirley Dixon Ferapont ... William Thomas Fedotik ... Gareth Pierce Roday ... Aled Bidder Adapted for radio by D.J.Britton Directed by Alison Hindell First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in March 2016 Ivanov 19th Century landowner Ivanov is in debt and depressed - can the love of a beautiful young woman rejuvenate him? Ivanov ... Ralph Feinnes Orkin ... Antony O'Donnell Anna Petrova ... Harriet Walter Count Shebelsky ... Oliver Ford Davis Yebedev ... Bill Paterson Ivof ... David Morissey Sacha ... Camilla Power Dramatised and Directed by David Hare First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in August 2015. The Wood Demon A luncheon party gathers to celebrate a wealthy unmarried man's birthday; his sister hopes he'll marry Sonya, the daughter of a selfish gout-ridden old professor who makes life hell for his son George and his young wife, Helen. At the luncheon is Khrushchov, a passionate environmentalist, called "the Wood Demon" by all, who's in love with Sonya and she with him, but neither will admit it. Two weeks later there's a family meeting at the professor's estate; two weeks after that, a supper at the cabin of Dyadin, who's cheerful to all. George, Helen, Sonya, and Khrushchov are each suffocating. Can any of them take action? Ian Holm ... Khrushchov Francesca Annis ... Helen Ronald Hines ... Voynitsky Ronald Fraser ... Serebryakov Donal McCann ... Theodore Angela Pleasence ... Julia Cyril Luckham ... Orlovsky Geoffrey Bayldon ... Dyadin Vickery Turner ... Sonya Anthony Douse ... Zheltukhin Daphne Heard ... Mrs. Voynitsky Jay Neill ... Vasily Directed by Donald McWhinnie Translation & Dramatisation by Ronald Hingley First broadcast BBC1 in November 1974 Uncle Vanya When Vanya's brother-in-law declares his intention to sell the family's house, polite facades begin to crumble and long repressed feelings start to emerge with devastating consequences. David Warner ... Vanya Ian Holm ... Astrov Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio ... Yelena Ian Bannen ... Prof. Serebryakov Rebecca Pidgeon ... Sonya Rachel Kempson ... Mariya Vasilyevna Sandra Voe ... Nanny Roger Hammond ... Waffles Jimmy Flint ... Workman James Warrior ... Workman Dramatised by David Mamet Directed by Gregory Mosher First broadcast BBC1 in October 1991