"Play of the Month"
The Wood Demon (1974)

Regisseur:

Donald McWhinnie

Drehbuchautor:

Anton Chekhov (play)

TV-Serie:

"Play of the Month" (1965)

Erstausstrahlung:

17. November 1974 (Staffel 10, Folge 3)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Based On Play

Nutzerkommentare:

"The Wood Demon" is Chekhov's early vision of "Uncle Vanya"

Besetzung

Ian Holm	...	Khrushchov
Francesca Annis	...	Helen
Ronald Hines	...	Voynitsky
Ronald Fraser	...	Serebryakov
Donal McCann	...	Theodore
Angela Pleasence	...	Julia
Cyril Luckham	...	Orlovsky
Geoffrey Bayldon	...	Dyadin
Vickery Turner	...	Sonya
Anthony Douse	...	Zheltukhin
Daphne Heard	...	Mrs. Voynitsky
Jay Neill	...	Vasily

Produktionsland:

UK

Sprache:

Englisch

Farbe:

Farbe

Tonverfahren:

Mono

Firma:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

"The Wood Demon" is Chekhov's early vision of "Uncle Vanya"

I saw this play at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City. It's a first draft of "Uncle Vanya" with a much heavier stress on the comedic elements than has the finished play. Here the uncle's name is George. There are many chuckles to be had from the character named Waffles, whose bad facial complexion is the source of his nickname.

Compared to "Uncle Vanya," "The Wood Demon" is a mere trifle. But it does prove that suicide is never easy, and can sometimes be quite funny.

I haven't seen the BBC version noted here, but I found the BAM production to be quite satisfactory. "The Wood Demon" is a must for Chekhov completest.

If you have the opportunity, seek this out for an enjoyable, though shallow, experience.