One hundred per cent surprise

10 August 2009

BlackSun Theatre Company perform The Sneeze

ANTON Chekhov is a name that has struck dismay into many an English literature student's heart over the decades.

The Russian playwright is renowned for some of the most eminent works for the stage over the past 150 years, but certainly not for his light-heartedness.

Death, domineering men, oppressed women, and skeletons in family cupboards have long been a staple diet, usually served up within an atmosphere of overpowering domestic despondency, successfully entertaining, but depriving the audience of any 'feel good' factor, or a spring in the step at the final curtain.

Many's the time yours truly has felt a sense of relief at reaching the post-matinee sunshine, or seeing the evening's bright lights following a particularly heavy dose of Mr C's depressive genius.

But, thanks to BlackSun Theatre Company, we can now see Chekhov in a new light...one in which gloom has been dispersed for glee, and melancholia transformed into mirth.

Yes, their offering at The Greenwich Playhouse is a rare comedy quartet from the great man.

100% Comedy, 100% Chekhov, features four delightful one-act stories which make for a fine evening's entertainment, no less so because they emanate from such unusual a source.

Director, Jemma Gross says: "Chekhov is like Shakespeare, in that at school students have the same old plays rammed down their throats.

"Chekhov can be revered and put on a pedestal, but I wanted people to have the same reaction as I had at seeing these works - I felt 'Good heavens, I had no idea he could be so funny' and I wanted to share that feeling with the audience."

BlackSun have brought The Sneeze, The Bear, The Jubilee, and The Wedding to the Playhouse, each one a comical work of art in its own right.

The Sneeze is mostly a mime, and concerns a night at the opera, attended by a major government officer and his wife, and a minor government officer and his spouse, and the outcome of an unfortunate bout of sneezing.

The Bear has David Fensom in sparkling form as a Russian landowner, desperate for the repayment of a loan to enable him to meet debts of his own, with Trudy Elizabeth Hodgson as the widow who refuses to cough up the money until she is good and ready.

The Jubilee is a farce whose characters are at odds with each other within the confines of a bank celebrating its founding anniversary which ends in chaos.

This trio is followed by the interval during which the company prepare for their finest offering, The Wedding, where all four actors portray 12 separate characters on stage simultaneously, with much misunderstanding and intrigue in the best slapstick traditions.

Many of Chekhov's one-acts and short stories were written as entertainment in his local comic magazines and to support his family financially.

It was these which put bread on the Chekhov family table as 19th century Russian audiences lapped up his frantic brand of humour.

The author saw these as 'amusing trifles' but it is through these, and thanks to companies like BlackSun that audiences can get a true sense of his comedy talents.

These extremely funny works provided a platform for the much more serious full-length plays by exploring themes of everyday life, and Chekhov's brand of stock characters which have made him a household name in international literature.

These four 'jests in one act' by BlackSun are also part of the Abbeyfest 2009, and offer a superb opportunity for people to find out about this great playwright's surprisingly lighter side.

100% Comedy, 100% Chekhov runs at the Greenwich Playhouse until August 16. Tickets, priced £12, £10 cons, from the box office on 0208 858 9256, visit boxoffice@galleontheatre.co.uk