The worst

"The Best" of Anton Chekhov is a four-hack play that occupies a unique place in the heritage of the dramatist. This is not just an independent, passionate comedy, but also a direct predecessor of the world-famous masterpiece "Daddy Vanya". Here Chekhov first puts his cult characters on the scene and addresses the topics that will become his visit card: the crisis of intelligence, the blindness of people to each other and the birth of environmental consciousness. The action develops in a provincial property where the peace of the local residents disrupts the arrival of the excentric and selfish professor Serebryakov with his blinding young wife Elena Andreevna. In the center of the story is the local caregiver and doctor Mikhail Khrushchev, for his fanatic love for nature and obsession with the preservation of the forests called by the neighbors "Leshim". He is convinced that the destruction of the forests leads to the harshness and degradation of mankind. Around Khrushchev is a caleidoscope of human trials: tortuous family disputes, irresponsible love, financial troubles and the deep drama of Ivan Vojnitsky. However, unlike the melancholic and observational "Daddy Vanny", the story of the "Less" develops much more dynamically, passing through the point of unreturn and leading the heroes to an unexpected final. The play "Less" affects its temperament - it has much more open conflicts, humor and external action than in the late Czech dramas. The writer appeared here as a real witness, hardly the first in world literature to link the environment of nature with the environment of the human soul. This is a bright, living and unworthy work remaining in the shadow, allowing you to look into the creative lab of genius. **About what the book in three words:** Forest, Passion, Crisis. To all the lovers of classical drama, theatres and dedicated fans of Chekhov, who want to see, from what scale and emotional "black" the legendary play "Daddy Vanya" has grown up.