I had the pleasure of attending the opening of the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival at The Gaiety Theatre. A couple of things helped me along before seeing the production. Donka is German slang for ‘danke’, thanks. Chekhov was a Russian playwright and short story writer who many consider to be one of the greatest.
The production was written and directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca ,who also directed Cirque Du Soleils Corteo, This is more than just a play. Pasca beautifully brings elements of dance, music in a playful and elegant way.
I’ll admit I didn’t have much knowledge of Chekhov and some words did, sort of, get lost in translation (Russian to English). This production seemed to focus more on Chekhov’s adventures rather than his literary works. This though, did not take away from the the exquisite performances on stage. (more…)