The Sneeze

The acclaimed author of Noises Off and Copenhagen, Michael Frayn, serves up fresh and idiomatic translations of a collection of Chekov shorts. The Sneeze contains the four one-act comic vaudevilles with which Chekhov first made his reputation in the theatre, with four adapted short stories. The piece was first performed with Rowan Atkinson in London in 1988.

The Sneeze is constructed as a tour de force for the actors, who play a series of different roles, one after the other, allowing the audience to relish their charm and versatility. The characters are a mostly hilarious collection of Chekhovian nebbishes: the anxious and undertalented lady writer who tries to read her five-act play out loud to a famous playwright; the minor government official who sneezes on a prominent government official; the burly Russian who subjects his delicate French visitor to rough country philosophy and gobs of hot mustard; the old actor on an empty stage; and the gentle man, scared of his wife, who fails to give a speech on the evils of tobacco.