There is a paradox about Chekhov's one-act plays: although performed as frequently as Pinter's short plays, or Beckett's - and given the much longer period of time since their creation - much less has actually been written about them.

This may be due to Chekhov's own dismissive estimation of them as 'amusing trifles', and because critics have tended to concentrate on his major works. There is, however, a marked correlation between the one-act plays and the major plays (and equally some of the short stories). This relates to the use of comic techniques, to the inversion of 'stock' conventions, to his characterisation, and the extent to which action arises from character, rather than plot. It is in some of the short plays that one may see the absence of plot, and the developing use of action which, characteristically Chekhovian, is motivated by internal - and often subtextual - characterisation and dialogue. The short plays require redefinition within the context of the theatrical conventions of the time and as a major and serious part of Chekhov's achievement.