The Notebook of Trigorin – A Free Adaptation of Chechkov`s The Sea Gull - Softcover

Williams, Tennessee; Hale, Allean

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0811213625 ISBN 13: 9780811213622

Publisher: New Directions, 1998

Synopsis

Upon discovering Chekhov when he was twenty-four, Tennessee Williams felt an immediate affinity with both the art and life of the Russian playwright. Both gravitated to exploring, with lyric intensity, the tortured lives and ambitions of closely bound groups of characters; both mixed comedy and tragedy in portraits of daily life.

Early on, Williams thought of directing a production of The Sea Gull, and, often returning to the play, his empathy gradually shifted from Constantine, the youthful experimenter, to Trigorin, the world-weary writer. Williams, too, in pursuing success had made compromises. Near the end of his life, Williams' chance to interpret The Sea Gull was realized at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where a production which brought Chekhov's buried conflicts to the surface was produced in 1980. Williams was still making revisions to the play when he died, and it was not until 1996, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of The Sea Gull's first performance, that The Cincinnati Playhouse staged The Notebook of Trigorin, on which this edition is based.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Tennessee Williams' journey from first reading Chekhov's The Sea Gull to his adaptation of that play as The Notebook of Trigorin mirrored his own creative life. Early on, Williams thought of directing The Sea Gull, and, over the years, often returned to the play, his empathy gradually shifting from Constantine, the youthful experimenter, to Trigorin, the world-weary writer. Williams, in his pursuit of success, had also made compromises. Near the end of his life, Williams realized his dream to interpret The Sea Gull when the University of British Columbia sponsored a production at the Vancouver Playhouse in 1981. This version, The Notebook of Trigorin, brought Chekhov's buried conflicts to the surface, but did not meet Williams expectations, and he was still making revisions to the play when he died in 1983. It was not until 1996, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of The Sea Gull's first performance, that The Cincinnati Playhouse staged The Notebook of Trigorin as Williams had envisioned it. This edition is based on that production.

About the Author

Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) is the acclaimed author of many books of letters, short stories, poems, essays, and a large collection of plays, including The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, Camino Real, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Orpheus Descending, The Night of the Iguana, and The Rose Tattoo.

Edition details

• Publisher: New Directions
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0811213625
• ISBN 13: 9780811213622
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 128