Hackett Publishing

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This volume offers lively and accurate translations of Chekhov's major plays and one-acts along with a superb Introduction focused on the plays' remarkably enduring power to elicit the most widely divergent of responses, the life of the playwright in its historical and aesthetic contexts, suggestions for reading the plays "under a microscope," and notes designed to bring Chekhov's world into immediate focus—everything needed to examine his drama with fresh eyes and on its own artistic terms.

"These new translations read smoothly and display fidelity to the original. Carnicke has aimed to find a middle path between versions that are too colloquial and versions that sound stilted or too formal to the American ear and has succeeded."
     —Julian W. Connolly, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures,
 University of Virginia

"Carnicke's translation of Three Sisters shows her background in the Slavic field to good advantage. Chekhov doesn't emerge as 'the voice of Twilight Russia,' or anything mawkish at all, as he sometimes does, but as a sharp-eyed watcher of some very silly people. Carnicke understands Chekhov and understands Russia."
     —Robert L. Belknap, Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages, Columbia University

"Carnicke's Cherry Orchard is direct, easily accessible to young American students and mercifully free of all that blather that mucks up so much of the other versions that I know."
     —James Parker, Late Professor of Theatre, Virginia Commonwealth University

"[A]n excellent and very reasonably priced Chekhov anthology. The best feature is the quality of the translations. Carnicke is a renowned scholar of the Russian language, Chekhov, and Stanislavsky. Her translations of the plays are clear, understandable, and extremely actable. They avoid the "stuffiness" of older translations and the excessive "contemporariness" of adaptations like those of Mamet. These translations draw us into Chekhov's world, instead of dragging him into ours.
     "On top of that, this volume has excellent ancillary materials. There's a pronunciation guide to the difficult Russian names and extensive annotations for each script explaining things mentioned in the script. The introduction provides valuable biographical and historical material. I can't wait to use this book in class."
     —Michael King, Northern Kentucky University

"[B]eautifully captures the world of Chekhov that continually teeters between human folly and dignified but poignant heartbreak.  I cannot imagine a better compilation to introduce actors to Chekhov and one that allows for a continued deepening of their understanding."
     —Mary-Joan Negro, School of Theatre, University of Southern California

"The last time I reviewed a production of The Seagull, it broke my heart. This time, I understood why Chekhov called it 'a comedy in four acts.' Carnicke's new translation highlights Chekhov's bitter humor."
     —Sandra Knipe, The Evansville Press

"Carnicke makes Chekhov immediately accessible to modern audiences."
     —Emory Lewis, The Record

"Carnicke's text for Three Sisters is faithful to the spirit underlying each line and entirely avoids the awkwardness that cripples most English versions of Chekhov."
     —Eileen Blumenthal, The Village Voice

Sharon Marie Carnicke is Professor of Theatre and Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Southern California. She is the author of Stanislavsky in Focus (Routledge) and, with Cynthia Baron, Reframing Screen Performance (University of Michigan Press).