Hello and welcome to this episode of Chronicles where today we're going to be talking all about the Seagull by Anton Chekhov.

Now, I have been really looking forward to getting into Chekhov for quite some time, not

only because he is undoubtedly one of the most important writers to ever exist.

In some ways there is theatre and acting and writing before Chekhov, and there is theatre and acting and writing before Chekhov and there is theatre and acting

and writing after Chekhov. He was a truly transformative writer and I wanted to start with the

Seagull, though it isn't his first play, his first play is Ivanov. I wanted to do the Seagull, which is his second major play,

because as well as being a fantastic play, the history of the play itself is as interesting as a play.

And so I think that by talking about the Seagull will have a great deal to discuss.

But before we start talking about the play itself, let's just talk a little bit about Chekhov, shall we?

So Anton Chekhov was born in 1860 and he died in 1904 due to complications of terrible health and TB and respiratory illnesses, bless him,

at the age of 44. But in that span of his life, he left, as I say, an indelible impression

not only on Russian culture, Russian literature, Russian theatre,

but would go on to have, I think, an influence

that even he didn't quite anticipate

on theatre and acting throughout the West,

and we'll discuss that a little bit more in due time.

But he had a very interesting upbringing as well.

His father was a grocer, Chekhov was born at a seaport town on the Sea of Azov in the Russian Empire.

And his father was a grocer. His mother had traveled quite a lot as a young woman due to her

father's trade.

And Chekhov's grandfather had actually been a serf.

Obviously at the time when Chekhov was born in 1860,

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