Plays : Ivanov; the Seagull; Uncle Vanya; Three Sisters; the Cherry Orchard

Chekov wrote that 'narrative is my legal wife and drama a flamboyant, rowdy, impudent, exhausting mistress'. As a playwright he was subversive, even revolutionary, breaking away from the prevailing fashions of contemporary theatre to create an exhilarating new form of drama. At a time when the Russian stage was dominated by farces, formulaic melodramas and vaudevilles, Chekhov created plays without heroes and villains, focused instead on the individual grappling with a moral dilemma. In place of the happy ending came ambiguity, in place of dramatic conflict came the solitary quest. He defied his audience's expectations, and the premiere of his first major play, Ivanov (1887), was met with bafflement, rage and scorn. With sensitive explorations of the themes of love, work and time, their complex characters and their blurred boundaries between sorrow and comedy, his plays remain as provocative and subtle today.

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was a physician and writer of short stories and plays.

Peter Carson learned Russian during his time in the Navy and at home from his mother. He has worked for many years in publishing in London.

Richard Gilman is professor emeritus of playwriting and dramatic literature at Yale University's School of Drama. He has been drama critic for Newsweek, Commonweal, and The Nation, and is the author of Chekhov's Plays and The Making of Modern Drama.