By Anton Chekhov and Adapted by Andrew Upton
THE SEAGULL caused PETE’S EYEBROWS to form a CATERPILLAR ARCH
The Dramatic Premise
Constantine is a hopeful playwright and Nina’s an aspiring actress.
Constantine and Nina burst onto the stage in Act I with all the manic, nervous energy you’d expect from creatives who are blessed by inspiration but have not yet found their true creative voice.
Constantine has written a non-conformist play where Nina plays “the soul of the world” in some future dimension. It’s not his first attempt at unconventional playwriting.
Photo credit – Prudence Upton / STC
Nina performs the work for family and friends at the estate of Constantine’s uncle, Peter. Irina, Constantine’s mother – and famous actress – is in attendance.
But Irina mocks her son’s work without any semblance of pity or any modicum of encouragement. The performance ends prematurely and Constantine storms off-stage.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the country estate is rife with desire.
Schoolteacher, Semyon, loves Masha, the estate steward’s daughter. But Masha has her lustful eyes on Constantine. Constantine is involved with Nina, but Nina yearns for Irina’s young boyfriend, Boris the novelist. Nobody, it seems, has any fondness for Irina.
Photo credit – Prudence Upton / STC
Will Constantine enjoy success as an unconventional playwright? Will Nina find her way to a mainstage? Will Constantine earn his mother’s approval? Will Irina rediscover her youth? Will Boris quell that monster in his soul which compels him to write?
And which of these reprobates will satisfy their sexual desires with whom?
A Wonderful Adaptation
I wasn’t sure what to expect from my first Chekhov play. In truth, I was probably minded to simply check-off having seen Chekhov.
But this production was a revelation!
Adapted by STC co-artistic director, Andrew Upton, I cannot be relied upon to distinguish which parts were Chekhov and which parts were Upton, but – taken as a whole – the play was a delight; all the way from the crackling wit and vibrant energy of the first Act all the way through to the sombre mood and devastating climax in Act IV.
I particularly enjoyed the insider theatre jokes, which had the opening night crowd tittering.
Photo credit – Prudence Upton / STC
Some lines were so unexpectedly funny that I felt compelled to throw my head back and laugh.
Mild spoiler alert…early in the third Act, Boris remarks to Marsha that Constantine may be minded to kill him. Marsha’s response – delivered by the always fabulous Megan Wilding – was priceless. Watch out for it!
Kudos also to Mabel Li, as Nina, Harry Greenwood, who played Constantine, Toby Schmitz, as Boris and, of course, national living treasure, Sigrid Thornton, in her role as Irina.
The Seagull
During the third Act, Constantine shoots and kills a seagull.
Photo credit – Prudence Upton / STC
Shortly afterwards, Nina and Boris connect on a cerebral and artistic level. They share a clear rapport. Boris asks Nina about the dead seagull. It inspires, within him, a short story about a girl who lives on a lake. She loves the lake as much as a seagull loves the lake. But a man arrives and destroys their paradise.
The scene is weighed down by melancholy. Clearly an ill portent of events which might play out in Act IV.
The Moment
The ending – somewhat unexpected, but somewhat inevitable – will haunt me for weeks to come.
Photo credit – Prudence Upton / STC
But the moment which took my breath away in this production was when Boris described to Nina the torture of being a novelist. In a monologue which occupied a good five to ten minutes, Boris describes the torment of sitting alone and channelling a story which exists in the universe and which must be told. He is merely the conduit. A servant almost.
And when he’d rather be fishing, the beast in his soul comes up with a new story or a new plot twist. So, with anguish, he must return to his desk and reproduce the story on paper.
Photo credit – Prudence Upton / STC
This review is based on the opening night performance of “The Seagull” on 25 November 2023. For more information:
Leave a comment