When Kolia is invited to visit his oldest friends on their estate in the country, he anticipates a pleasant break from Moscow life. But, as the comedy of provincial life plays out around him, he finds himself adrift in a miasma of false expectations, mixed opportunities and unspoken passions.
From two short stories by the Russian master Anton Chekhov, renowned and award-winning novelist William Boyd spins a tale of nineteenth-century Russian life both familiar and unfamiliar. Boyd’s moving play explore the human condition in all its passionate and comedic intensity, just as Chekhov’s stories did for his first readers over a century ago.
This edition features an introduction by Donald Rayfield, Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary, University of London.
Longing received its world premiere at Hampstead Theatre on 28 February 2013.
When Kolia is invited to visit his oldest friends on their estate in the country, he anticipates a pleasant break from Moscow life. But, as the comedy of provincial life plays out around him, he finds himself adrift in a miasma of false expectations, mixed opportunities and unspoken passions.
From two short stories by the Russian master Anton Chekhov, renowned and award-winning novelist William Boyd spins a tale of nineteenth-century Russian life both familiar and unfamiliar. Boyd’s moving play explore the human condition in all its passionate and comedic intensity, just as Chekhov’s stories did for his first readers over a century ago.
This edition features an introduction by Donald Rayfield, Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary, University of London.
Longing received its world premiere at Hampstead Theatre on 28 February 2013.