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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Chekhov Double Bill - A JUBILEE and THE WEDDING
Verdict: Unusual
Mill Studio, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
30 May - 1 June 2002
A JUBILEE
It's the jubilee of the foundation of a small provincial bank. The shareholders are arriving, and accountant Kuzma Nikolaevich Hirin (Paul Mushumani) is trying desperately to balance the books.
He's distracted by manager Andrey Andreevich Shipoochin, (Neil Todd), in party mood, rehearsing his speech.
Enter Tatiana, the manager's bubbly child-bride (Katy Bartrop), and it's clear the books will go unbalanced as Hirin throws up his hands in despair.
Enter Madam Merchootkina (Elanor Pearson), made up to be quite spectacularly ugly, keen to avenge her husband's dismissal from a completely unrelated bank, and Shipoochin's speech hits the bin.
A fight of epic dimensions erupts, just in time for the arrival of the senior shareholder (Philip Bulcock).
THE WEDDING
It's the wedding feast of Dasha (Verity Bell) and her fiancé Epaminondas Aplombov (Mark Burdett).
Her father Yevdokhim Zhigalov, a retired minor civil servant, (Thomas Garvey), kisses her passionately on the lips as often as possible, and her catatonic state suggests damage. Her mother Nastasya (Katy Bartrop) looks on stoically as the feast disintegrates.
There's vomiting from Greek confectioner Kharlampy Dymba, (Neil Todd), and broken wind from just about everyone. Ivan Yat, telegraph clerk (Philip Pritchard) gives oral sex to midwife Anna Zmeyukina (Marie Parker Shaw), and oral abuse to the parents of the bride.
The Best Man (Paul Mushumani) looks worried (with justification), and Dmitry Mozgovoy, sailor in the volunteer fleet (Philip Bulcock), swaps rigging-grappling yarns with retired Commander Theodore Revunov Karaulov, (Oliver Scofield) as only seamen can.
There's light relief from the waiters (Andrew Byron and Nick West) who dress the table by tossing plates and salamis to each other, and insurance agent Andrew Nyunin, (Steve Richards) who monocycles through the collapsing party much as Nero might have fiddled.
***
Both plays are directed by Oleg Mikhailov. Stage Manager and Sound Operator - Eileen Nicholas. Lighting Operator - Justin Sutton. Producer - Moscow Broadway Productions.
Here are two plays that showcase the lighter side of Chekhov, interpreted by a Russian director for British audiences.
Chekhov's lighter side - on the basis of these two plays written between 1887 and 1891 - isn't Carry On stuff, though there's a lot of slapstick and farting.
He called them 'vaudevilles', and they're sometimes called comedies. The production is said to follow the authentic traditional Russian approach to these words (in Chekhov's time), and it's clear this differs from the traditions of say the London stage.
The heavily stylised presentation gives a much slower run to the two plays than British audiences are used to, but it's an interesting experiment, and the performances are superb.
This is a fine ensemble cast, with each performance well-executed. As examples, Katy Bartrop is memorable as cheeky Tatiana, bubbling with life and gaiety, and lifting A Jubilee into another dimension. And Steve Richards as trick-cylist Andrew Nyunin in The Wedding is very funny in a delightful and impish way.
Moscow Broadway Productions have staged this Chekhov double bill at the Edinburgh and Moscow Theatre Festivals 2001, and the production may be shown again in future. It's unusual, and worth looking out for.
You don't really expect laughs from Chekhov, so it's perhaps surprising to find he had a sense of humour at all. What he had is on display in these two interesting plays.
END
John Park
Thursday 30 May 02
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
