Online Play Reading Group

A once-celebrated actress, Arkadina dominates every room she enters, leaving little chance for anyone else to shine. Her son, the tormented young playwright Konstantin, yearns to escape her shadow, revolutionise theatre, and win the heart of Nina, a luminous young woman with dreams of the stage. But when Nina's gaze turns instead to Arkadina's lover, the celebrated writer Trigorin, egos and passions collide with devastating consequences.

Characters:

• RINA ABKADINA, an actress
• CONSTANTINE TREPLIEFF, her son
• PETER SORIN, her brother
• NINA ZARIETCHNAYA, a young girl, the daughter of a rich landowner
• ILIA SHAMRAEFF, the manager of SORIN’S estate
• PAULINA, his wife
• MASHA, their daughter
• BORIS TRIGORIN, an author
• EUGENE DORN, a doctor
• SIMON MEDVIEDENKO, a schoolmaster
• JACOB, a workman
• A COOK
• A MAIDSERVANT

"Uncle Vanya" is a play by Anton Chekhov that explores themes of disillusionment, unrequited love, and the search for meaning in life. Set on a rural estate in Russia, the narrative revolves around the interactions of its main characters: Uncle Vanya, his niece Sonya, the retired Professor Serebryakov, and his young wife, Yelena. Vanya, who has devoted years to managing the estate for the professor, grapples with the realization of the professor's selfishness and ineffectiveness. The doctor, Astrov, also becomes entangled in the lives of these characters, sharing his frustrations about their stagnation and his own disillusionment with society.

Characters:

• ALEXANDER SEREBRAKOFF, a retired professor
• HELENA, his wife, twenty-seven years old
• SONIA, his daughter by a former marriage
• MME. VOITSKAYA, widow of a privy councilor, and mother of Serebrakoff's first wife
• IVAN (VANYA) VOITSKI, her son
• MICHAEL ASTROFF, a doctor
• ILIA (WAFFLES) TELEGIN, an impoverished landowner
• MARINA, an old nurse
• A WORKMAN

This rendition of Spring Awakening (not the musical version) has been translated and adapted by Edward Bond. It follows the same story arcs, including Wendla’s struggle with her mother's evasive answers about sexuality, Moritz’s academic pressures leading to despair, and Melchior’s philosophical inquiries. Ultimately, the play culminates in tragic events resulting from the characters' search for truth and understanding in a world that frequently denies them such knowledge.

Characters:

Children:

• Melchior Gabor
• Moritz Stiefl
• Hanschen Rilow
• Ernst Robel
• Otto
• Georg Litschnitz
• Robert Lammermeier
• Wendla Bergmann
• Martha Bessel
• Thea
• Ilse

Boys in a Reformatory:

• Dieter
• Reinhold
• Rupert
• Helmut
• Gaston

Parents:

• Herr Gabor
• Herr Stiefel
• Ina Muller (Wendla's sister)
• Frau Gabor
• Frau Bergmann

Teachers:

• Headmaster Sunstroke
• Prof. Gutgrinder
• Prof. Bonebreaker
• Prof. Tonguetwister
• Prof. Flyswatter
• Prof. Thickstick
• Prof. Apelard

Other Adults:

• The Masked Man
• Dr. Lemonade
• Dr. Procrustes
• Rev. Baldbelly
• Fastcrawler (The School Porter)
• Uncle Probst
• Friend Zieg
• Locksmith