Platonov (Russian: Платонов also known as Fatherlessness and A Play Without a Title) is the name in English given to an early, untitled play written in Russian by Anton Chekhov in 1878.
It was the first large-scale drama by Chekhov written specifically for Maria Yermolova, rising star of Maly Theatre. Yermolova rejected the play and it was not published until 1923.
The lead character is "Mikhail Platonov", a disillusioned provincial schoolmaster, and his name is used for the title in English translations.
Chekhov's own text, which despite a running time of about five hours he never thought of as finished, is seldom played.
Love affairs, discussions of debts, drink, boredom and monotony are the landscape in which the guests on the veranda of the attractive widow Anna Petrovna lead their lives, until the arrival of a young teacher, Platonov, who will have a profound effect on their stagnant existence.
However, the charming hero’s lustre gradually fades as he wastes his time enjoying the frailties of others and putting his own to the test. Four women are sucked into the vortex of his charm and his dangerous game will have unforeseen consequences for everyone.
In his first play, Platonov, Chekhov tackles the main thematic motifs that will occupy him in the future.
His heroes are ruled by the passions and frailties of human nature, expectations are unfulfilled, and life is a futile quest for happiness in which comedy and drama endlessly alternate, just as in real life.
This early example of Chekhov's genius is directed on the Nikos Kourkoulos New Stage by Giorgos Lanthimos (director of the multi-award-winning film Dogtooth).
The production is based on a modern adaptation of the play by David Hare and is performed by a dynamic cast of young actors.
Adaptation: David Hare
Translation: Efi Giannopoulou
Direction: Giorgos Lanthimos
Set design: Anna Georgiadou
Costume design: Thanos Papastergiou, Vasileia Rozana
Movement: Amalia Bennett
Lighting design: Thimios Bakatakis
Musical support and sound processing: Christos Lainas
Dramaturg: Elena Karakouli
Assistant to the director: Anna Nikolaou
Cast:
Porfiry Glagolyev: Manos Vakousis
Osip / Sergei Voinitsev: Thanassis Dimou
Isaac / Abraham Vengerovich: Vasilis Karaboulas
Nikolai Triletski: Andreas Konstantinou
Marko / Kiril / Maria Yegorovna: Ariane Labed
Anna Petrovna: Angeliki Papoulia
Katya / Sofia Yegorovna: Maria Protopappa
Michael Platonov: Aris Servetalis
Sasha Ivanovna: Elena Topalidou
A small against-the-regulations-about-videocameras scene from the play
Personal Note: Probably the best play I had the chance/luck to attend this year. Fresh, Interesting, Innovating, Inspiring.
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