The Bear

Summary: 1938 BBC Television studio production of Anton Chekhov’s one-act comedy The Bear.
Theatre play: The Bear by Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) [more information]
Play synopsis: 'Elena Ivanovna Popova is the beautiful widow of a philandering husband. She has not left her house since his death, and tries to punish his departed soul with her extreme faithfulness. Grigory Stepahnovich Smirnov (the Bear) is owed a large sum of money by her late husband, and arrives to collect. He is desperate for it today; she can’t access the money until her accountant returns tomorrow. Worse, for Smirnov, is that she doesn’t seem to care about his impending bankruptcy. They quarrel, and it looks like a duel may be the next step, except that Smirnov becomes increasingly attracted to the fiery young woman. In his frustration he touches one of her chairs and it breaks in his large paw. This happens again. Fortunately for Popova’s furniture, the play ends in a kiss and a solution for both characters.' (Source: http://www.artsalive.ca/collections/imaginedspaces/index.php/en/activities-and-resources/propsintro/the-vaudevilles-of-chekhov-the-bear; accessed 12 February 2014.)
Production history: Written, published and performed in 1888.
Date of transmission: Sunday 11 September 1938
Time: 9.05pm (20 mins)
Channel: BBC Television

Producer

Eric Crozier (1914-1994)

Presented for the stage by

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)

Cast

Title: Televised Drama: Felicity’s First Season (Newspaper review)
Author/creator: Anonymous (Reviewer)
Reference: The Times, 19 September 1938, p. 19
Notes: 'In 20 minutes Miss Lucie Mannheim and Mr Marius Goring had created a superb situation, extravagant in the fullest Russian sense [...] It is a ludicrous situation, but was acted with such conviction that they both carried it off.'

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