by Irene Nemirovsky adapted by Michael Hastings for BBC Radio 4.
Episodes from childhood and later life of Anton Chekhov.
Drama | 3-7 November 2008 | 5 x 14 minutes
In five short plays we witness crucial moments from Anton Chekhov’s tough childhood in the remote port of Taganrog on the Sea of Azov – a childhood clouded by his abusive drunken father in which to escape his plight he would create stories to give his siblings some comfort.
Irene Nemirovsky’s biography appeared in 1950 but it was not until the publication of Suite Française in 2006 that her enormous talent as a writer reached a wider audience. In A Life of Chekhov she puts aside the conventional biographer’s position and writes the story as if she was in the presence of the Chekhov family.
CAST
Anton Chekhov – ANDREW SCOTT
Masha Chekhov & Natasha – ROMOLA GARAI
Yevgenia Chekhov & Olga Knipper – NIAMH CUSACK
Paul Chekhov & Suvorin – DAVE HILL
Uncle Mitrofan – ALAN WILLIAMS
Kolya Chekhov & Alex Smagin – BO PORAJ
Sasha Chekhov – KEITH DUNPHY
Vanya Chekhov – HUGH WYLD
Misha Chekhov – BILLY DUDLEY
Studio Manager & Editor – MARK SMITH
Director – LUCY BAILEY
Executive Producer – EDWARD CROZIER
Producer – NICHOLAS NEWTON
A Promenade production for BBC Radio 4