ABSTRACT
. . .Much as I delight in ‘The Seagull’ I put it fourth in the list with ‘The Cherry Orchard’ first and ‘Uncle Vanya’ and ‘Three Sisters’ in between. . . . Comedy and tragedy . . . are exquisitely mingled; the characters fall into places; what seemed an inconsequence is found to have its place in the scheme, and the merest irrelevance is found to be part of the picture. . . . Are these people remote? To me they are much more real than many I meet daily. That is Chekhov's great achievement. He has taken an oddly assorted crew in a Russia that has ceased to exist and universalised them for all time. . . . How the actors must jump at the chance of playing Chekhov. Every part is so well defined, so rich in opportunity. . . .
