Imagination

"Two years later I was approached by this Art Theatre for permission to do the play (The Seagull) in Moscow. I was reluctant, you can imagine, but they said that it had the very pulse of Russian life in it, and wanted to give it a second chance. This time I went to the rehearsals but missed the opening. As a matter of fact I fell in love with the actress playing the actress. Some of the production was absurd, especially the realistic sound effects: frogs croaking, and dragonflies, which is as stupid as to stick a real nose on a painting of a face. I said to them, the next play I write, the hero will come on at the start and say, What wonderful silence! No birds, no cuckoos, owls, clocks, no sleigh bells, no crickets!" - Anton Chekhov by Michael Pennington in Are You There Crocodile? - Inventing Anton Chekhov