This is a physical production with the actors speaking very naturally to each other using Paul Schmidt's modern translation. In this production a few words of text become the core of a world of intonations glances and physicalizations - head slaps embraces or wrestling moves - as often happens in everyday life. Instead he integrates it with extraordinarily intimate and emotionally honest performances. But what's so refreshing about this production is that director Janos Szasz doesn't let the amazing scenic design dominate as sometimes happens at ART productions. There's nothing new about walking into the ART and being knocked out by their sets and costumes. But it captures something about the emotional heart of the play with its evocation of a bar-turned-homeless shelter that could be set in Chechnya or the last stop before the end of the world. This clearly is not the country estate setting that Chekhov calls for in the script.
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