Anton Chekhov's writing is seen as the best example of Russian Realism of the 19th century. He created and spearheaded the movement with his new more realistic way of portraying life on stage. Much of the fourth wall acting throughout the 19th and 20th Century was influenced by Chekhov's plays. Chekhov's work is synonymous with Stanislavski, the pioneering expert on naturalism acting. The realistic and natural style of acting that is still the predominate approach to most films, TV shows and theatre productions today was created by Stanislavski. Stanislavski directed many of the original theatre productions of Chekhov's plays.
Chekhov's plays have always shown a mirror up to the complexity of human desire and dreams through focusing on the minutiae of life, the small details and the everyday life. Melodrama was the reigning form of theatre in the 19th Century. Chekhov was hugely misunderstood and disliked when his plays first came to the stage. His realism was hard for the theatre audiences to understand. It dealt with subjects that were dark, it dealt with misfortune, deception, broken hearts and broken dreams and showed a mirror up to reality with startling clarity.
This BBC Audio collection explored some of his best works, adapted for the radio.
