Anton Chekhov's popularity in the west is without parallel for a
foreign writer. He has been absorbed into our culture, and accepted
as one of our own. His plays lend themselves easily to the stage,
calling for actors with intelligence and common sense rather than a
dramatic voice or histrionic skills. He takes from everyday life
themes of frustration which apply to us all - the difficulty of
carving out a happy existence, the problems of love, the fading of
hope, the universal feeling that time passes and we never quite get
things right. This seems pessimistic, and yet Chekhov claimed he
was writing comedy. Readers, actors and directors must decide for
themselves which way to play these pieces. They are full of
sadness, but a sadness described as the darkness of the last hour
before the dawn . Whether tragic or comic, however, they are works
of the first importance. The Cherry Orchard has been described as
the best play since Shakespeare , Three Sisters as the best play in
the world .