Anton Chekhov

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)[1] was a Russian physician, dramaturge and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history and one of the most prominent playwrights. His career as a dramatist produced four classics: The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard, all of them immensely influential and often performed in South Africa - especially in Afrikaans translation.

Perhaps not quite as influential on the Afrikaans canon as Henrik Ibsen's work, his wry, dark, metaphoric and contemplative style of Naturalism nevertheless appealed strongly to a certain group of Afrikaans directors and playwrights (for example Robert Mohr, Carel Trichardt and Reza de Wet) in the 20th century.