Wood Demon (1974)

Anton Chekhov’s WOOD DEMON was not a success when first premiered (it was later reworked into what became UNCLE VANYA) and is rarely revived. One can see why. The play opens with a birthday party where a group of unhappy people moan and whine about how boring everything is and the play ends with the same people (save one) at an evening picnic moaning and whining about how boring everything is. In between, everyone announces how unhappy they are and how life isn’t fair. At one point, the hysteria became downright comical and I thought perhaps I was seeing it in the wrong light, perhaps it was a comedy. The unanimous over emoting by excellent actors who’ve done better work like Ian Holm and Francesca Annis suggests that either they thought it was a comedy too or they didn’t know what they were doing. Still, it is the great Chekhov so there are a handful of moments to savor but overall, it’s a weak play.