''Wild Honey'' is a 1984 adaptation by British playwright

Michael Frayn Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce '' Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy''. His novels, such as '' Towards the End of the M ...

of an earlier play by Anton Chekhov. The original work, a sprawling five-hour drama from Chekhov's earliest years as a writer, has no title, but is usually known in English as '' Platonov'', after its principal character "Mikhail Platonov", a disillusioned provincial schoolmaster. Frayn's adaptation was given its first production at London's National Theatre in 1984 and won

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

s in three categories: for Ian McKellen as ''Actor of the Year in a Revival'',

Christopher Morahan Christopher Thomas Morahan CBE (9 July 1929 – 7 April 2017) was a British stage and television director and production executive. Biography Early life and career Morahan was born on 9 July 1929 in London, the son of film production designer ...

as ''Director of the Year'' and John Gunter as ''Designer of the Year''. "Anna Petrovna" was played by

Charlotte Cornwell Charlotte Cornwell (26 April 1949 – 16 January 2021) was an English actress, singer, and a celebrated teacher of acting on the faculty at the University of Southern California (2003-2012). She began her career as an actress in Richard Cott ...

. The play opened at New York's

Virginia Theatre The August Wilson Theatre (formerly the Guild Theatre, ANTA Theatre, and Virginia Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 245 West 52nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, the theater was designed b ...

in December 1986 presented by impresario

Douglas Urbanski Douglas Urbanski is an American film producer and occasional film actor. He is a twice Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe Nominated and BAFTA-winning motion picture producer. Life and career Urbanski was born in Somerville, New Jersey. In addition ...

with McKellen repeating his title role, but otherwise with an American cast which included

Kim Cattrall Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British-Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Awa ...

Kathryn Walker Kathryn Walker is an American theater, television and film actress. Biography Walker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wells College in Aurora, New York, and was a Fulbright Scholar in music and dra ...

and Kate Burton. The play was broadcast as a

radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

on the digital radio station, BBC7 on 31 January 2010 as part of a BBC radio season of

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

, drama,

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

and

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

s to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Chekhov's birthday. Ian McKellen returned to play Platonov, while Anna Calder Marshall played Sasha. BBC Radio 4 broadcast another production in 2018, directed by Clive Brill, starring

David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show ''Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...

as Platonov and Olivia Darnley as Sasha.

References

External links

The 1984 London production

1984 plays Plays based on works by Anton Chekhov Plays by Michael Frayn {{1980s-play-stub