Barons Court's Butterfly Is a Scaled Down Tale of Vanity and Delusion

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Sheila Prophet reviews a new version of Chekhov's 'comedy with a bitter twist'

Anton Chekhov's 1892 short story The Butterfly, also known as The Grasshopper, has a dramatic back story of its own, as it was inspired by a real life scandal in Moscow involving socialite Sofia Kuvshinnikova, her lover, artist Isaac Levitan and her doctor husband Dmitri, who were considered a menage a trois.

This version of Chekhov's tale of vanity and delusion, updated and adapted by Barons Court Theatre's Artistic Director Ronald Selwyn Phillips, is of necessity a small scale affair in the theatre's tiny cellar, involving just four characters.

The lovers are pretentious artist Peter Ryabovsky, played by Simon D'Aquino and the Butterfly herself, self-centred dilettante Olga Dymov, portrayed by Alexandra Giorgiana Dobirceanu.

Christian Richard as Olga's besotted hubby Osip and Doctor Stefan Korostelvo, played by Matt Dean are a rather more sympathetic duo, with Stefan constantly trying to offer his friend unwelcome advice about his wife's behaviour.

Her selfishness and casual neglect of her husband are highlighted in one key scene, when an apparently oblivious Osip turns up at the lovers' country hideway with a picnic. Olga promptly sends him back home again to fetch one of her dresses, then opens the basket and shares the caviar with Peter.

In Chekhov's plays, characters often experience a moment of truth as they realise they have been deluded, and in Olga's case there are two - when Peter casts her off and sets his sights on another woman and the final scene, when poor put upon Osip finally breathes his last.

Olga is not an easy part to play, as we have to believe in her charms despite her appalling antics. Unfortunately, in this adaptation, as she became increasingly overwrought I found her more irritating then enchanting and at the end was unconvinced that the Butterfly had learned anything at all!

The Butterfly is a landmark production for Barons Court Theatre, as it is the final one for Ronald Selwyn Phillips, who first established it and became its Artistic Director in 1991.

Over the years Ronald has adapted many well known works, including Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, Kafka's Metamorphosis and numerous Shakespeare plays, and his most performed work is an adapatation of three Guy de Maupassant short stories under the title Sex and Sadness.

He is also a prolific writer of screenplays, with five at the pre-production stage and two films already completed and due for release soon - Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Krucifiction, a horror story filmed on location in Fuerteventura.

There is still time this week to catch The Butterfly by Anton Chekhov as it continues at Barons Court Theatre, under the Curtain's Up pub in Comeragh Road, until 17 November at 7.45pm from Tuesday till Saturday and 6pm on Sundays.

Tickets are priced £15, or £12 concessions from the Box Office on 020 8932 4747.

You can also book by email. Send details to londontheatre@gmail.com. Then pay for them, in cash, when you come to the performance. The theatre says it will send an email acknowledgement very quickly.

Sheila Prophet

November 11, 2019