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Audible Theatre Collection: Chekhov

By: Anton Chekhov
Narrated by: Samantha Bond, Freddie Fox, Katherine Kingsley, Alison Pettitt, Catrin Stewart, Clare Corbett, Nick Boulton
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  • Summary

  • Despite his early death from tuberculosis at the age of 44, Chekhov was a prolific writer and produced more than 250 short stories in addition to several novellas and a novel. The Russian was also a practicing doctor.

    A celebrated playwright, Anton Chekhov is often recognised as an influential figure of early modernism of the theatre in addition to being held in high esteem by the likes of George Bernard Shaw and Virginia Woolf, although much praise was not as forthcoming until after his death in 1904.

    This collection features three plays. Dark comedy The Seagull, is the first of what are considered his 'major plays'. Three Sisters tells the story of a trio of sisters lonely after their father dies and The Cherry Orchard has a dual comedy and tragedy narrative.

    The Seagull

    Written in 1895 and a master class in the art and power of subtext, The Seagull follows the romantic and artistic conflicts between its four main characters, all dissatisfied with life. Some desire love. Some desire success. Some desire artistic genius. No one seems able to attain happiness.

    Tragic and often darkly comic, The Seagull is a timeless classic and an early exercise in addressing the pitfalls of depression and lack of satisfaction in life and purpose.

    Full cast: Samantha Bond, Catrin Stewart, Freddie Fox, Anthony Howell, Katherine Kingsley, John Rowe, Rachel Atkins, Hugh Ross, Nick Boulton, Stephen Critchlow.

    Three Sisters

    After the death of their father, his three daughters find it very hard to live in a drab Russian provincial town. The presence of a company of army officers is the only thing that makes their existence bearable, though inevitable drama, competition and failure lead to confusion and pain, as life doesn't turn out quite to plan for the sisters.

    Full cast: Samatha Bond, Freddie Fox, Katherine Kingsley, Alison Pettitt, Catrin Stewart, Clare Corbett, Nick Boulton, Stephen Critchlow, Anthony Howell, Richard Reed, Hugh Ross, John Rowe.

    The Cherry Orchard

    In Chekhov's last play, a widowed landowner returns home more or less insolvent after five years abroad. Everything appears just as she remembers it, but hers is a diminishing world. The vast and beautiful cherry orchard is soon to be sold off against her mounting debts. The insistent warnings of a peasant's son turned wealthy businessman go unheeded, and more than the family estate is sacrificed.

    Full cast: Samatha Bond, Freddie Fox, Hugh Ross, Georgie Grier, Clare Corbett, Richard Reed, Stephen Critchlow, Katherine Kingsley, Nick Boulton, Anthony Howell, Alison Pettitt, John Rowe.

    As an Audio Show – free for members – when you add Audible Theatre Collection: Chekhov to your library, you'll get three plays split into a total of 12 acts, each with a runtime of about 35 minutes.

    ©2016 Audible, Ltd. (P)2016 Audible, Ltd.
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Episodes
  • Three Sisters
    May 2 2018

    After the death of their father, his three daughters find it very hard to live in a drab Russian provincial town. The presence of a company of army officers is the only thing that makes their existence bearable, though inevitable drama, competition and failure lead to confusion and pain, as life doesn't turn out quite to plan for the sisters.

    Full cast: Samatha Bond, Freddie Fox, Katherine Kingsley, Alison Pettitt, Catrin Stewart, Clare Corbett, Nick Boulton, Stephen Critchlow, Anthony Howell, Richard Reed, Hugh Ross, John Rowe.

    Show More Show Less
    2 hrs and 8 mins
  • The Seagull
    May 2 2018

    Written in 1895 and a master class in the art and power of subtext, The Seagull follows the romantic and artistic conflicts between its four main characters, all dissatisfied with life. Some desire love. Some desire success. Some desire artistic genius. No one seems able to attain happiness.

    Tragic and often darkly comic, The Seagull is a timeless classic and an early exercise in addressing the pitfalls of depression and lack of satisfaction in life and purpose.

    Full cast: Samantha Bond, Catrin Stewart, Freddie Fox, Anthony Howell, Katherine Kingsley, John Rowe, Rachel Atkins, Hugh Ross, Nick Boulton, Stephen Critchlow.

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 51 mins
  • The Cherry Orchard
    May 2 2018

    In Chekhov's last play, a widowed landowner returns home more or less insolvent after five years abroad. Everything appears just as she remembers it, but hers is a diminishing world. The vast and beautiful cherry orchard is soon to be sold off against her mounting debts. The insistent warnings of a peasant's son turned wealthy businessman go unheeded, and more than the family estate is sacrificed.

    Full cast: Samatha Bond, Freddie Fox, Hugh Ross, Georgie Grier, Clare Corbett, Richard Reed, Stephen Critchlow, Katherine Kingsley, Nick Boulton, Anthony Howell, Alison Pettitt, John Rowe.

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 40 mins

What listeners say about Audible Theatre Collection: Chekhov

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beautiful

loved the plot and the caste. The despair and hope is beautifully juxtaposed by the author.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

It's Chekhov. Of course the stories get 5 stars.

If you're familiar with these plays you'll enjoy them as old friends. If not, listen to them twice. As "radio plays" it can be difficult to differentuate between the female characters. Stick with it. It's worth your time.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful casting!

I love this cast, especially the Cherry Orchard! Amazing performance in the ACT III. Moving and touching

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Download issues

There seems to be an issue with the Audible Theatre collections; I purchased these almost a month ago and all that is available on my kindle fire app is a long description of the show with no option to play or download the episodes.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

use the app on Samsung phone to listen

on my kindle fire I could not listen to this. I put audible on my phone and now I can listen to it. good short stories.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Download not working

As the other reviewer states, the download is not working. Please fix it as I was looking forward to it.

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