Writer: Anton Chekhov
Director: Dmitrij Turchaninov
Not one play, but actually two one-act plays. One based on Chekhov’s short story, the other his own play. Probably this should be called The Lady with the Dog & The Bear, as The Lady is the first play presented in the evening. Director Dmitrij Turchaninov brings together these two stories, farcical and comical, to show how love can transform one.
In The Lady With The Dog we’re watching the emergence and aftermath of a holiday affair between an adulterous man (James Viller) and a married lady (Anna Viller). The mysterious Lady in question turns up, alone, at a Russian seaside resort. The man is instantly attracted to her and begins a calculated seduction. His plans are to have his fun whilst on holiday and then return to his humdrum and miserable life. However, in their short liaison, his mind is turned upside down. He questions his misogynistic mindset and becomes truly infatuated with her. She, in return, is overwhelmed by his attention and desire and, despite an apparently happy marriage, cannot help but be drawn to him, passionately and deeply.
The Bear takes a similar theme, of two seemingly different and disengaged people and, through their interactions, transform their relationship. Here we have a grieving widow, Elena (Anna Viller), who, seven months after her husband has died, is so grief stricken that she still refuses to leave the confinement of her parlour. Into this comes a landowner, Grigory (James Viller), who claims her husband is indebted to him to the tune of 1200 Roubles that he needs that very day. Elena can’t pay immediately but offers to pay in two days’ time, however that is not suitable for Grigory and the pair begin a tumultuous argument. The two are deep set in their own misunderstanding of their reality. Elena thinks she’s inconsolably bereaved, and Grigor considers himself a misogynist. Their argument escalates rapidly and significantly, to the point of leading to a duel. But then something happens, mutual hatred turns rapidly to love, and all previous preconceptions and beliefs dissipate.
The production is stripped back. Two performers with minimal staging; In The Lady there a coat stand and a large rectangular box on the stage. The rear wall has some projections giving us an indication of where the scene is taking place. In The Bear, there’s no backdrop but a cage/bed frame takes centre stage. The two performers are quite compelling in their roles. They both manage to give an authenticity to the text. Turchaninov uses the actors to both speak in character, but also to narrate at certain points. This switching between the external and internal narrative is deftly delivered and give greater depth to the story.
But the hero of the show must be the director, Turchaninov, an alumnus of the Moscow Art Theatre School, where Chekhov’s plays were first staged. The stripped back staging forces one to focus to the actors and their words, intensifying the overall experience. Whilst billed as a comedy, it’s not a parade of jokes and pratfalls. The humour here is darker and more contained. Previous versions of The Lady have played to the more farcical and slapstick elements that present themselves, but Turchaninov dials that back considerably and presents a more intense study of the emergence and impact of love. Chekhov’s text is masterful and here is a performance that lets his words take centre stage.
Runs until 27 August 2022
