Since 2001, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre has been staging the Master Playwright Festival, and this year the spotlight is shining on Anton Chekhov, a 19th century Russian writer known for his short stories and plays.

“It’s always a tough choice to narrow down who we want to celebrate and recognize, but this year it really was Chekhov’s turn,” says Chuck McEwen, Master Playwright Festival executive producer.

“Last year we did something different with a musical theatre writer named Stephen Sondheim and I think with Chekhov we’re going back to something more traditional.

“He was sort of known for initiating the tragic comedy play style which I think was fairly unique at the time. The other thing with Chekhov is the fact that he was more well-known as a short story writer and a lot of the theatre companies are dramatizing the short stories he wrote.”

Overall, ChekhovFest will feature 24 different productions staged at a variety of different venues, sort of like what goes on at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival each summer.

“The biggest job is getting different members of the community together, whether they’re university theatre programs, professional independent theatre programs, community theatre groups, to create the festival and celebrate just one master playwright,” McEwen says. 

Fancy Bred Theatre is one of the participating companies. It will be staging an original monologue called About Love & Champagne, which is adapted from two short stories Chekhov wrote.

“I’m taking one short story he wrote called About Love and another called Champagne and I’m adding large chunks of my own writing in there too,” says Rodrigo Beilfuss, who’s acting in the play and did his first Master Playwright production in 2007.

“There really is nothing more Chekhovian than the idea of being stuck in a place and wanting to get out, he’s the perfect playwright for Winnipeg because so many Winnipeggers moan about being stuck here. My play is basically about being stuck in Winnipeg after returning from London [England, where he was completing an M.A. in Classical Acting] with parts from the short stories and the Chekhov dark comedic touch.”

Adhere and Deny Theatre of Objects and Puppets will be tackling Swan Song, a one-act play which Chekhov wrote early in his career.

Graham Ashmore plays the role of an actor named Svietlovidoff who looks back on his career as it winds down while a puppet named Nikitushka portrays the prompter Ivanitch.

“The playwright that they [the Master Playwright Festival] choose needs to have work we can perform with puppets and some years that doesn’t work very well, but Chekhov is one of my favourite writers and we’ve performed his work in the past. We actually did Swan Song a few years ago and now we’re trying it again a little differently,” says Grant Guy, Adhere and Deny artistic director. 

 “I like Swan Song because it’s full of pathos and full of humour. It’s a beautiful piece that will truly make you laugh and make you cry at the same time.”

Published in Volume 68, Number 17 of The Uniter (January 22, 2014)