This play is based on hundreds of love letters between Anton Tjekhov and the actress Olga Knipper. He was a great author and a humanist who knew that his life would be short- She was a vital and passionate young actress. They met when he was 38 and she was 29 and they only managed to know each other for six years of which they were married the last three years until his death in 1904. For health reasons he was deported to Yalta whilst she was occupied in Moscow during the theatre season. Even though they were together in the summer the constant worsening of his condition ruined the quality of their precious time together. It is based on these circumstances the Tjekhov-translator Carol Rocamora tells a poignant and deep love story. Peter Brook’s staging of the play could be seen at Betty Nansen Teatret may 2004.
