Wild Man of the Woods

Newly translated and adapted by Joseph Blatchey from Wood Demon by Anton Chekhov.

In development

An exuberant, charming and passionate tale of lost life and found love, deep despair and youthful hope set against the background of the bucolic woodlands of 1880s Russia.

The vision of Bear in the Air Productions is to share our love of Chekhov's work and legacy. Our aim is to introduce a whole new generation of theatregoers to the genius of a playwright whose work stretches across time by bringing them a story of burning topical relevance to the world today.

"The world isn't falling apart because of thieves and murderers; it's simply because of simmering hatreds, petty squabbles and hidden resentments between decent people." Anton Chekhov - The Wood Demon

When Chekhov first wrote Wood Demon, the critics disliked it; he withdrew it for rewrites and returned to the theatre a year later with a new version. Still unaccepted by the intelligentsia, Chekhov used parts of the play to create Uncle Vanya in its place. For Wild Man of the Woods, all the extant versions have been lovingly combined by Chekhov experts to reflect the playwright's natural and understated style, creating a dramatic and witty play with Chekhov very much the author.

The aim of this production is to bring the genius of Chekhov's works to audiences through an exceptional never-before-seen version of this often-overlooked comedy which will appeal to everyone from Chekhov scholars to those new to his magic.

"Were the gifts of reason and creativity bestowed on us so that we could wipe out the forests, suck the rivers dry, decimate the wildlife, destroy the climate and make this earth poorer and uglier with each day that passes? No, they weren't. They were bestowed on us so that we could make the life we've been given, a better one!" Anton Chekhov - The Wood Demon