ABSTRACT
IT APPEARS THAT, at least in the United States, even after virtually a hundred years of relentless attempts by the avant-garde to change the nature of theatrical presentation, realism and the ‘Stanislayski system’ still predominate, and the appeal of Chekhov continues unabated. As I write this essay in 1998, for example, New York has recently seen a production of The Seagull in a translation by Tom Stoppard, Lynn and Vanessa Redgrave presented a highly touted evening of cenes from various Chekhov plays, and a new biography of the playwright by Donald Rayfield, Anton Chekhov, A Life has been widely reviewed. The videocassette of the 1994 film Vanya on 42nd Street has been issued and the film is already developing a cult following.
