Platonov is disillusioned. He is approaching middle age, a country schoolmaster with a failing marriage and a circle of friends who drink to mourn the passing of their idealism. In a world rife with extramarital affairs, attempted suicides, fights, and comic desperation, Platonov is the plausible hero. This bold new adaptation of Chekhov's first full–length play brings a startlingly contemporary sensibility to the 19th–century drama while remaining true to the playwright's voice and vision. In Platonov, all the classic Chekhovian elements shine: the juxtaposition of comedy and tragedy, the deep insight into human nature, the unforgettable characters grappling with moral uncertainties. The first Canadian version of one of Chekhov's most ambitious works, Platonov is a thrilling switchback ride between farce and tragedy that belongs on every theatre–lover's bookshelf.

Anton Chekhov
Born in 1860, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian short-story writer, playwright and physician, considered to be one of the greatest short-story writers in the history of world literature. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Chekhov’s play The Seagull, translated by David French, is available from Talonbooks.

David French
Born in Coley’s Point, Newfoundland, David French was one of Canada’s best-known and most critically acclaimed playwrights. His work received many major awards, and French was one of the first inductees into the Newfoundland Arts Hall of Honour.

Among his best-loved works are the semi-autobiographical Mercer plays: Salt-Water Moon; 1949; Leaving Home, recently named one of Canada’s 100 Most Influential Books (Literary Review of Canada) and one of the 1,000 Most Essential Plays in the English Language (Oxford Dictionary of Theatre); Of the Fields, Lately and Soldier’s Heart. The Mercer plays have received hundreds of productions across North America, including a Broadway production of Of the Fields, Lately. This quintet of plays about a Newfoundland family has also touched audiences in Europe, South America and Australia. In addition, French produced skillful adaptations of Alexander Ostrovsky’s The Forest, Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull and August Strindberg’s Miss Julie.

Anton Chekhov's profile page

This audio edition of Kingfisher Days is whimsically narrated by the author, Susan Coyne, who delicately transforms herself into a quiet and serious five-year-old without a trace of the forced childlikeness one expects from adults playing children. Susan Coyne has played leading roles at theatres throughout Canada and abroad. She is a founding member of Toronto's Soulpepper Theatre, for whom she co-adapted Anton Chekhov's Platonov (with László Marton). She also adapted Kingfisher Days into a stage play, which was first produced at Tarragon Theatre in February and March 2003.

Susan Coyne's profile page

Làszló Marton, Adaptor: Làszló Marton is one of Hungary's most important theatre directors with an international reputation. He has staged plays in Germany, Finland, Israel, the United States (in Chicago, Sante Fe, Knoxville, and Louisiana) and in Canada.

Laszlo Marton's profile page