Chekhov celebration - Hampstead Theatre
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
TO MARK Anton Chekhov’s 150th birthday, British actor Michael Pennington and leading Chekhov specialist Rosamund Bartlett will host a series of shows dedicated to the work of this renowned writer at Hampstead Theatre – from January 18 to January 23, 2010.
Well known writers and directors have chosen their favourite Chekhov stories and plays, and will discuss them alongside readings and performances by eminent actors.
The short season of tributes will also include Pennington’s one man show Anton Chekhov, which premiered at the National Theatre in 1984 and has since toured worldwide.
Others taking part will include Eileen Atkins, Simon Russell Beale, William Boyd, Richard Eyre, William Fiennes, Michael Frayn, David Hare, David Horovitch, Steve McNeil, Miriam Margolyes, Rosamund Pike, Lynne Truss and Penelope Wilton.
The event has been organised to raise money to restore the White Dacha – the house in Yalta where Chekhov wrote Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard – which has now lost its state funding and is in a serious state of disrepair.
It’s a cause Pennington has been campaigning for since October 2008. As he explained:
“Anton Chekhov’s house in Yalta is in a parlous condition; a casualty of disagreements between Ukraine and Russia. The trees he planted could suffer the same fate as the trees in The Cherry Orchard. I know of no writer’s house that more tenderly reflects the character of its owner, so we must raise some money to save it.
“Judging from the names lined up for our Hampstead week it’s a popular cause, and since it is, near enough, his 150th birthday as well, it’ll be a Chekhovian occasion; apprehensive about the future, but comic and full of hope.”
For a performance schedule visit Hampstead Theatre Website