Regarded an expert on Chekhov's works, the artistic director of Budapest's Vigszinhas Theatre and prominent teacher at the Czech capital's Academy of Dramatic Arts, was invited to do his stuff in both capacities to climax the second season of Toronto's acclaimed Soulpepper classical theater company.
Laszlo Marton chose this little known chunk of Chekhov, used in his classes for many years, as a Laboratory Project production. No matter how many aesthetic reasons are given for presenting Chekhov's first full-length play, it should be left as classroom exercise for drama students. Platonov was written in the early 1880's with an estimated playing time of five to seven hours. Subsequently, it was abandoned in a bank vault till the playwright's death in 1904. Adapted to three hours by Marton and company member Susan Coyne, it's non-vintage Chekhov, with a ludicrous second act "experimentally" juxtaposing melodrama and comedy ad nauseum. The playwright's signature themes of loneliness and boredom among Russia's new middle class in mid-19th century, produces no new insights. We challenge the idea of hoisting this verbose and sophomoric effort (written when Chekhov was 23) on ticket buyers invariably familiar with his proven masterpieces. The indulgence finds Chekhovian fundamentalists savoring dramatic and erudite tidbits.
For the rest, forced into guffaws in the intentional farcical last hour, the tidbits are due more to the performances by this company of accomplished classical theatre veterans. Company co-founder and artistic director Albert Schultz brings his virility, stamina, charisma and understanding to the Herculean and mercurial tempered title role. Platonov, 27, is a philandering provincial schoolteacher, married to a devoted, intelligent woman, forced to reconcile lofty aspirations with his premature unfulfilled reality. Weakness to wine and sexual ardor with every succumbing female in Platonovka, his rural district, regardless of their marital or social status, brings only more dissatisfaction and eventual self-destruction. Comparisons to today's transitional era are inevitable. Kudos to every supporting cast member and the team-designed, atmospheric set depicting a rural Russian schoolhouse/home.
