Russian novelist and playwright Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) has often been considered the father of the modern short story, such was his skill. But he was equally adept at writing plays. In his canon of seventeen stage works lies four of the best plays in the modern theatre: The Sea-Gull, The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya and…

Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) is often considered the father of modern theatre and realism, even though he wrote in a number of dramatic genres. Ibsen’s twenty-five plays include some of the theatre’s greatest works (A Doll’s House, Hedda Gabler). The break from society’s moral standards evident in A Doll’s House shocked the audience at…