''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises the romantic and artistic conflicts between four characters: the famous

middlebrow The term middlebrow describes easily accessible art, usually literature, and the people who use the arts to acquire culture and "class" (social prestige). First used in the British satire magazine ''Punch'' in 1925, the term ''middlebrow'' is the ...

story writer Boris Trigorin, the ingenue Nina, the fading actress Irina Arkadina, and her son the symbolist playwright Konstantin Treplev. Like Chekhov's other full-length plays, ''The Seagull'' relies upon an ensemble cast of diverse, fully developed characters. In contrast to the melodrama of mainstream 19th-century theatre, lurid actions (such as Konstantin's suicide attempts) are not shown onstage. Characters tend to speak in

subtext Subtext is any content of a creative work, which is not announced explicitly (by characters or author), but is implicit, or becomes something understood by the audience. Subtext has been used historically to imply controversial subjects without ...

rather than directly. The character Trigorin is considered one of Chekhov's greatest male roles. The opening night of the first production was a famous failure.

Vera Komissarzhevskaya Vera Fyodorovna Komissarzhevskaya (russian: Ве́ра Фёдоровна Комиссарже́вская; 8 November 1864 – 23 February 1910) was one of the most celebrated actresses and theatre managers of the late Russian Empire. She made ...

, playing Nina, was so intimidated by the hostility of the audience that she lost her voice.Chekhov (1920); Letter to A. F. Koni, 11 November 1896. Available online at Project Gutenberg. Chekhov left the audience and spent the last two acts behind the scenes. When supporters wrote to him that the production later became a success, he assumed that they were merely trying to be kind. When Konstantin Stanislavski, the seminal Russian

theatre practitioner A theatre practitioner is someone who creates theatrical performances and/or produces a theoretical discourse that informs his or her practical work. A theatre practitioner may be a director, dramatist, actor, designer or a combination of these t ...

of the time, directed it in 1898 for his

Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...

, the play was a triumph. Stanislavski's production became "one of the greatest events in the history of Russian theatre and one of the greatest new developments in the history of world drama". Stanislavski's direction caused ''The Seagull'' to be perceived as a tragedy through overzealousness with the concept of subtext, whereas Chekhov intended it to be a comedy.

Writing

Chekhov purchased the

Melikhovo Melikhovo (russian: Ме́лихово) is a writer's house museum in the former country estate of the Russian playwright and writer Anton Chekhov. Chekhov lived in the estate from March 1892 until August 1899, and it is where he wrote some of hi ...

farm in 1892, where he ordered a lodge built in the middle of a cherry orchard. The lodge had three rooms, one containing a bed and another a writing table. Chekhov eventually moved in and in a letter written in October 1895 wrote:

I am writing a play which I shall probably not finish before the end of November. I am writing it not without pleasure, though I swear fearfully at the conventions of the stage. It's a comedy, there are three women's parts, six men's, four acts, landscapes (view over a lake); a great deal of conversation about literature, little action, tons of love.

Thus he acknowledged a departure from traditional dramatic action. This departure would become a critical hallmark of the Chekhovian theater. Chekhov's statement also reflects his view of the play as comedy, a viewpoint he would maintain towards all his plays. After the play's disastrous opening night his friend

Aleksey Suvorin Aleksei Sergeyevich Suvorin (Russian: Алексей Сергеевич Суворин, 11 September 1834, Korshevo, Voronezh Governorate – 11 August 1912, Tsarskoye Selo) was a Russian newspaper and book publisher and journalist whose pub ...

chided him as being "womanish" and accused him of being in "a funk." Chekhov vigorously denied this, stating:

Why this libel? After the performance, I had supper at Romanov's. On my word of honor. Then I went to bed, slept soundly, and the next day went home without uttering a sound of complaint. If I had been in a funk I should have run from editor to editor and actor to actor, should have nervously entreated them to be considerate, should nervously have inserted useless corrections, and should have spent two or three weeks in Petersburg fussing over my ''Seagull,'' in excitement, in a cold perspiration, in lamentation... I acted as coldly and reasonably as a man who has made an offer, received a refusal, and has nothing left but to go. Yes, my vanity was stung, but you know it was not a bolt from the blue; I was expecting a failure, and was prepared for it, as I warned you with perfect sincerity beforehand.

And a month later:

I thought that if I had written and put on the stage a play so obviously brimming over with monstrous defects, I had lost all instinct and that, therefore, my machinery must have gone wrong for good.

The eventual success of the play, both in the remainder of its first run and in the subsequent staging by the

under Stanislavski, would encourage Chekhov to remain a playwright and lead to the overwhelming success of his next endeavor ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the dir ...

'', and indeed to the rest of his dramatic work.

Title

The English title for the play ''The Seagull'' is a potentially misleading translation of the title from its original Russian. Although the words "gull" and "seagull" are often used interchangeably in English, the text of the play makes no mention of the sea and is set on an estate somewhere in the inland regions of central Russia or

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. The titular gull in question was likely meant by Chekov to be a

black-headed gull The black-headed gull (''Chroicocephalus ridibundus'') is a small gull that breeds in much of the Palearctic including Europe and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory and winters further south, but some birds r ...

common gull The common gull or sea mew (''Larus canus'') is a medium-sized gull that breeds in the Palearctic, northern Europe. The closely related short-billed gull is sometimes included in this species, which may be known collectively as "mew gull". Man ...

. A more exact translation of the title would thus be ''The Gull,'' as the word "seagull" could erroneously evoke maritime connotations when no such imagery was intended by the playwright.

Characters

* Irina Nikolayevna Arkadina – an actress, married surname Trepleva * Konstantin Gavrilovich Treplev – Irina's son, a young man *Pyotr Nikolayevich Sorin – Irina's brother, owner of the country estate * Nina Mikhailovna Zarechnaya – a young woman, the daughter of a rich landowner * Ilya Afanasyevich Shamrayev – a retired lieutenant and the manager of Sorin's estate * Polina Andreyevna – Shamrayev's wife * Masha – her daughter * Boris Alexeyevich Trigorin – a

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

* Yevgeny Sergeyevich Dorn – a doctor * Semyon Semyonovich Medvedenko – a teacher * Yakov – a workman * Cook * Maid

Plot

Act I

Pyotr Sorin is a retired senior civil servant in failing health at his country estate. His sister, actress Irina Arkadina, arrives at the estate for a brief vacation with her lover, the writer Boris Trigorin. Pyotr and his guests gather at an outdoor stage to see an unconventional play that Irina's son, Konstantin Treplev, has written and directed. The

play-within-a-play A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes c ...

features Nina Zarechnaya, a young woman who lives on a neighboring estate, as the "soul of the world" in a time far in the future. The play is Konstantin's latest attempt at creating a new theatrical form. It is a dense symbolist work. Irina laughs at the play, finding it ridiculous and incomprehensible; the performance ends prematurely after audience interruption and Konstantin storms off in humiliation. Irina does not seem concerned about her son, who has not found his way in the world. Although others ridicule Konstantin's drama, the physician Yevgeny Dorn praises him. Act I also sets up the play's various romantic triangles. The schoolteacher Semyon Medvedenko loves Masha, the daughter of the estate's steward Ilya Shamrayev and his wife Polina Andryevna. However, Masha is in love with Konstantin, who is in love with Nina, but Nina falls for Trigorin. Polina is in an affair with Yevgeny. When Masha tells Yevgeny about her longing for Konstantin, Yevgeny helplessly blames the lake for making everybody feel romantic.

Act II

A few days later, in the afternoon, characters are outside the estate. Arkadina, after reminiscing about happier times, engages in a heated argument with the house steward Shamrayev and decides to leave. Nina lingers behind after the group leaves, and Konstantin arrives to give her a

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century ...

that he has shot. Nina is confused and horrified at the gift. Konstantin sees Trigorin approaching and leaves in a jealous fit. Nina asks Trigorin to tell her about the writer's life; he replies that it is not an easy one. Nina says that she knows the life of an actress is not easy either, but she wants more than anything to be one. Trigorin sees the gull that Konstantin has shot and muses on how he could use it as a subject for a short story: "The plot for the short story: a young girl lives all her life on the shore of a lake. She loves the lake, like a gull, and she's happy and free, like a gull. But a man arrives by chance, and when he sees her, he destroys her, out of sheer boredom. Like this gull." Arkadina calls for Trigorin, and he leaves as she tells him that she has changed her mind – they will not be leaving immediately. Nina lingers behind, enthralled with Trigorin's celebrity and modesty, and gushes, "My dream!"

Act III

Inside the estate, Arkadina and Trigorin have decided to depart. Between acts Konstantin attempted suicide by shooting himself in the head, but the bullet only grazed his

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...

. He spends the majority of Act III with his scalp heavily bandaged. Nina finds Trigorin eating breakfast and presents him with a medallion that proclaims her devotion to him, using a line from one of Trigorin's own books: "If you ever need my life, come and take it." She retreats after begging for one last chance to see Trigorin before he leaves. Arkadina appears, followed by Sorin, whose health has continued to deteriorate. Trigorin leaves to continue packing. After a brief argument between Arkadina and Sorin, Sorin collapses in grief. He is helped off by Medvedenko. Konstantin enters and asks his mother to change his bandage. As she is doing this, Konstantin disparages Trigorin, eliciting another argument. When Trigorin reenters, Konstantin leaves in tears. Trigorin asks Arkadina if they can stay at the estate. She flatters and cajoles him until he agrees to return with her to Moscow. After she has left the room, Nina comes to say her final goodbye to Trigorin and to inform him that she is running away to become an actress against her parents' wishes. They kiss passionately and make plans to meet again in Moscow.

Act IV

It is winter two years later, in the

drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th cent ...

that has been converted to Konstantin's study. Masha finally accepted Medvedenko's marriage proposal, and they have a child together, though Masha still nurses an unrequited love for Konstantin. Various characters discuss what has happened in the two years that have passed: Nina and Trigorin lived together in Moscow for a time until he abandoned her and went back to Arkadina. Nina gave birth to Trigorin's baby, but it died in a short time. Nina never achieved any real success as an actress, and she is currently on a tour of the provinces with a small theatre group. Konstantin has had some short stories published, but he is increasingly depressed. Sorin's health is still failing, and the people at the estate have

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

ed for Arkadina to come for his final days. Most of the play's characters go to the drawing room to play a game of

bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** Bi ...

. Konstantin does not join them, instead working on a manuscript at his desk. After the group leaves to eat dinner, Konstantin hears someone at the back door. He is surprised to find Nina, whom he invites inside. Nina tells Konstantin about her life over the last two years. Konstantin says that he followed Nina. She starts to compare herself to the gull that Konstantin killed in Act II, then rejects that and says "I am an actress." She tells him that she was forced to tour with a second-rate theatre company after the death of the child she had with Trigorin, but she seems to have a newfound confidence. Konstantin pleads with her to stay, but she is in such disarray that his pleading means nothing. She embraces Konstantin, and leaves. Despondent, Konstantin spends two minutes silently tearing up his manuscripts before leaving the study. The group reenters and returns to the bingo game. There is a sudden gunshot from off-stage, and Dorn goes to investigate. He returns and takes Trigorin aside. Dorn tells Trigorin to somehow get Arkadina away, for Konstantin has just shot himself.

Performance history

Premiere in St. Petersburg

The first night of ''The Seagull'' on 17 October 1896 at the

Alexandrinsky Theatre The Alexandrinsky Theatre (russian: Александринский театр) or National Drama Theatre of Russia is a theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Alexandrinsky Theatre was built for the Imperial troupe of Petersburg (Imperial tr ...

in Petersburg was a disaster, booed by the audience. The hostile audience intimidated

so severely that she lost her voice. Some considered her the best actor in Russia who, according to Chekhov, had moved people to tears as Nina in rehearsal. The next day, Chekhov, who had taken refuge backstage for the last two acts, announced to Suvorin that he was finished with writing plays. When supporters assured him that later performances were more successful, Chekhov assumed they were just being kind. ''The Seagull'' impressed the playwright and friend of Chekhov

Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko (russian: Владимир Иванович Немирович-Данченко; , Ozurgeti – 25 April 1943, Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian theatre director, writer, pedagogue, playwright, producer an ...

, however, who said Chekhov should have won the

Griboyedov Griboyedov may refer to: * Alexander Griboyedov (1795-1829), Russian playwright and diplomat * Griboyedov Canal The Griboyedov Canal or Kanal Griboyedova () is a canal in Saint Petersburg, constructed in 1739 along the existing ''Krivusha'' r ...

prize that year for ''The Seagull'' instead of himself. Stanislavski Seagull

Moscow Art Theatre production

Nemirovich overcame Chekhov's refusal to allow the play to appear in Moscow and convinced Stanislavski to direct the play for their innovative and newly founded

in 1898. Stanislavski prepared a detailed directorial score, which indicated when the actors should "wipe away dribble, blow their noses, smack their lips, wipe away sweat, or clean their teeth and nails with matchsticks", as well as organising a tight control of the overall '' mise en scène''. This approach was intended to facilitate the unified expression of the inner action that Stanislavski perceived to be hidden beneath the surface of the play in its

. Stanislavski's directorial score was published in 1938. Stanislavski played Trigorin, while

Vsevolod Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (russian: Всеволод Эмильевич Мейерхольд, translit=Vsévolod Èmíl'evič Mejerchól'd; born german: Karl Kasimir Theodor Meyerhold; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre ...

, the future director and

practitioner Practitioner may refer to: *Health practitioner *Justice and public safety practitioner * Legal practitioner * Medical practitioner *Mental health professional or practitioner *Theatre practitioner Spiritual Practitioner * Solitary practitioner ...

(whom Stanislavski on his death-bed declared to be "my sole heir in the theatre"), played Konstantin, and

Olga Knipper Olga Leonardovna Knipper-Chekhova (russian: Ольга Леонардовна Книппер-Чехова, link=no; – 22 March 1959) was a Russian and Soviet stage actress. She was married to Anton Chekhov. Knipper was among the 39 o ...

(Chekhov's future wife) played Arkadina. The production opened on 17 December 1898 with a sense of crisis in the air in the theatre; most of the actors were mildly self-tranquilised with Valerian drops. In a letter to Chekhov, one audience member described how: Nemirovich-Danchenko described the applause, which came after a prolonged silence, as bursting from the audience like a dam breaking.. The production received unanimous praise from the press. It was not until 1 May 1899 that Chekhov saw the production, in a performance without sets but in make-up and costumes at the Paradiz Theatre.. He praised the production but was less keen on Stanislavski's own performance; he objected to the "soft, weak-willed tone" in his interpretation (shared by Nemirovich) of Trigorin and entreated Nemirovich to "put some spunk into him or something". He proposed that the play be published with Stanislavski's score of the production's '' mise en scène''. Chekhov's collaboration with Stanislavski proved crucial to the creative development of both men. Stanislavski's attention to

psychological realism In literature, psychological fiction (also psychological realism) is a narrative genre that emphasizes interior characterization and motivation to explore the spiritual, emotional, and mental lives of the characters. The mode of narration examin ...

and ensemble playing coaxed the buried subtleties from the play and revived Chekhov's interest in writing for the stage. Chekhov's unwillingness to explain or expand on the script forced Stanislavski to dig beneath the surface of the text in ways that were new in theatre. The Moscow Art Theatre to this day bears the seagull as its

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

to commemorate the historic production that gave it its identity.

Other notable productions

Uta Hagen Uta Thyra Hagen (12 June 1919 – 14 January 2004) was a German-American actress and theatre practitioner. She originated the role of Martha in the 1962 Broadway premiere of ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' by Edward Albee, who called her "a ...

made her Broadway debut as Nina, at the age of 18, in a production with

Alfred Lunt Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway and West End productions. After th ...

and

Lynn Fontanne Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End theatre, West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred i ...

in 1938 at the Shubert Theatre. In November 1992, a Broadway staging directed by

Marshall W. Mason Marshall W. Mason (born February 24, 1940) is an American theater director, educator, and writer. Mason founded the Circle Repertory Company in New York City and was artistic director of the company for 18 years (1969–1987). He received an Obie ...

opened at Lyceum Theatre, New York. The production starred

Tyne Daly Ellen Tyne Daly (; born February 21, 1946) is an American actress. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work, a Tony Award and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee. Daly began her career on stage in summer stock in New York, ...

as Arkadina,

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

as Treplyov,

Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He came to prominence in the late 1960s with his Academy Award–nominated performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo, in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969). During the 1970s, h ...

as Trigorin, and Laura Linney as Nina. In 1998, a production by

Daniela Thomas Daniela Thomas (born 1959) is a Brazilian film director, screenwriter and editor. Early life In 1959, Thomas was born as Daniela Gontijo Alves Pinto in Brazil. Thomas' father is Ziraldo Alves Pinto, a cartoonist. Thomas' brother is Antonio P ...

, assisted by Luiz Päetow, toured Brazil under the title ''Da Gaivota'', with Fernanda Montenegro as Arkadina,

Matheus Nachtergaele Matheus Nachtergaele (born 3 January 1968) is a Brazilian actor, director, and screenwriter. Career He has starred in numerous Brazilian films, best known for his appearances in the 1997 film ''Four Days in September'' and the 2002 film '' City ...

as Treplyov, and

Fernanda Torres Fernanda Pinheiro Monteiro Torres (born 15 September 1965) is a Brazilian film, stage and television actress and writer. She was born in Rio de Janeiro, the daughter of the Oscar-nominated actress Fernanda Montenegro and the actor Fernando Torre ...

as Nina. The

Joseph Papp Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

presented Chekhov's play as part of the

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions ar ...

summer season in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

from July 25, 2001 to August 26, 2001. The production, directed by

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...

, starred

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

as Arkadina, Christopher Walken as Sorin,

Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive supporting and character roles—typically lowlifes, eccentrics, underdogs, and misfits—he acted in many films and theatrical produ ...

as Treplyov,

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC comedy series ''Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he rec ...

as Shamrayev,

Marcia Gay Harden Marcia Gay Harden (born August 14, 1959) is an American actress. She is the recipient of accolades including an Academy Award and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for a Critics' Choice Movie Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards. Born ...

as Masha, Kevin Kline as Trigorin,

Debra Monk Debra Monk (born February 27, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and writer, best known for her performances on the Broadway stage. She earned her first Tony Award for the 1993 production of ''Redwood Curtain'' and won an Emmy Award for sev ...

as Polina, Stephen Spinella as Medvedenko, and

Natalie Portman Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...

as Nina. In early 2007, the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

staged a production of ''The Seagull'' starring Kristin Scott Thomas as Arkadina,

Mackenzie Crook Paul James "Mackenzie" Crook (born 29 September 1971) is an English actor, comedian, director and writer. He played Gareth Keenan in ''The Office'', Ragetti in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films, Orell in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones ...

as Treplyov and

Carey Mulligan Carey Hannah Mulligan (born 28 May 1985) is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. Mulli ...

as Nina. It also featured

Chiwetel Ejiofor Chiwetel Umeadi Ejiofor ( ; born 10 July 1977) is a British actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, an NAACP Image Award, and nominations for an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awa ...

and Art Malik. The production was directed by

Ian Rickson Ian David Rickson (born 1963) is a British theatre director. He was the artistic director at the Royal Court Theatre in London from 1998 to 2006.

, and received great reviews, including ''The Metro Newspaper'' calling it "practically perfect". It ran from January 18 to March 17, and Scott Thomas won an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

for her performance. In 2007/2008, a production by the Royal Shakespeare Company toured internationally before coming into residence at the West End's

New London Theatre The Gillian Lynne Theatre (formerly New London Theatre) is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden. The Winter Garden Theatre formerly occupied the site until 1965 ...

until 12 January 2008. It starred

William Gaunt William Charles Anthony Gaunt (born 3 April 1937 in Pudsey, West Riding of Yorkshire) is an English actor. He became widely known for television roles such as Richard Barrett in ''The Champions'' (1968–1969), Arthur Crabtree in '' No Place ...

and Ian McKellen as Sorin (who alternated with

in the role, as McKellen also played the title role in ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...

''),

Richard Goulding Richard Goulding (born 1980/1981) is a British actor, best known for playing Prince Harry in the 2014 stage play ''King Charles III'', and its 2017 BBC TV adaptation, as well as in 2016 television series ''The Windsors''. Education Goulding wa ...

as Treplyov,

Frances Barber Frances Barber (née Brookes, born 13 May 1958) is an English actress. She received Olivier Award nominations for her work in the plays '' Camille'' (1985), and ''Uncle Vanya'' (1997). Her film appearances include three collaborations with Gar ...

as Arkadina,

Jonathan Hyde Jonathan Stephen Geoffrey King (born 21 May 1948), known professionally as Jonathan "Nash" Hyde, is an Australian-English actor. Hyde is perhaps best known for roles as Herbert Arthur Runcible Cadbury in the 1994 comedy film '' Richie Rich'', Sa ...

as Dorn,

Monica Dolan Monica Margaret Dolan (born 15 March 1969) is an English actress. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Rosemary West in '' Appropriate Adult'' (2011). Career Dolan was born in Middlesbrough and trained at the Gu ...

as Masha, and

Romola Garai Romola Sadie Garai (; born 6 August 1982) is a British actress and film director. She appeared in ''Amazing Grace'', ''Atonement'', and '' Glorious 39'', and in the BBC series '' Emma'', '' The Hour'' and ''The Crimson Petal and the White''. I ...

as Nina. Garai in particular received rave reviews, ''The Independent'' calling her a "woman on the edge of stardom", and the ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' calling her "superlative", and stating that the play was "distinguished by the illuminating, psychological insights of Miss Garai's performance." The

Classic Stage Company Classic Stage Company, or CSC, is a classical Off-Broadway theater. Founded in 1967, Classic Stage Company is one of Off-Broadway's oldest theaters. Its 199-seat theatre is the former Abbey Theatre located at 136 East 13th Street between Third a ...

in New York City revived the work on 13 March 2008 in a production of Paul Schmidt's translation directed by Viacheslav Dolgachev. This production was notable for the casting of

Dianne Wiest Dianne Evelyn Wiest (; born March 28, 1948) is an American actress. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for 1986’s '' Hannah and Her Sisters'' and 1994’s ''Bullets over Broadway'' (both of which were directed by Wood ...

in the role of Arkadina, and Alan Cumming as Trigorin. On 16 September 2008, the

Walter Kerr Theatre The Walter Kerr Theatre, previously the Ritz Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 219 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was constructed for the Shube ...

on Broadway began previews of Ian Rickson's production of ''The Seagull'' with Kristin Scott Thomas reprising her role as Arkadina. The cast also included

Peter Sarsgaard John Peter Sarsgaard (; born March 7, 1971) is an American actor. His first feature role was in '' Dead Man Walking'' in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films ''Another Day in Paradise'' and ''Desert Blue''. That same year, Sarsga ...

as Trigorin,

as Treplyov, Art Malik as Dorn,

as Nina,

Zoe Kazan Zoe Swicord Kazan (; born September 9, 1983) is an American actress, playwright, and screenwriter. She made her acting debut in the film ''Swordswallowers and Thin Men'' (2003) and later appeared in films such as '' The Savages'' (2007), ''Revol ...

as Masha, and

Ann Dowd Ann Dowd (born January 30, 1956) is an American actress. She has played supporting roles in numerous films, including ''Green Card'' (1990), ''Lorenzo's Oil'' (1992), ''Philadelphia'' (1993), '' Garden State'' (2004), '' The Manchurian Candidate' ...

as Polina. In 2011, a new version directed by Golden Mask winner

Yuri Butusov Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...

debuted at Konstantin Raikin's

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...

theater, notable for its return to comedy and "

Brechtian Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

-style techniques." In 2017 and in coordination with Butusov, a production was filmed and subtitled in English by th
Stage Russia
project. The

Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and contemporary pla ...

staged ''Seagull'' in the New Theatre from 22 February until 22 June 2012, adapted and directed by

Libby Appel Libby Appel (born May 14, 1937) served as the fourth artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) from 1995 to June 2007. Appel directed more than 25 productions at OSF, and her artistic vision influenced the 11 plays presented each ...

. In 2014, a translation into

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

under the title ''Die seemeeu'', directed by Christiaan Olwagen and starring

Sandra Prinsloo Sandra Prinsloo (born 15 September 1947), also known as Sandra Prinzlow, is a South African actress best known internationally for her role as Kate Thompson in the 1980 film '' The Gods Must Be Crazy''. Prinsloo has also appeared in numerous So ...

, was staged at the

Aardklop Aardklop is an annual South African arts festival held in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Potchefstroom has always been a cultural city and home to several well-known South African writers and artists. The Aardklop National Arts Festival has been ...

arts festival in Potchefstroom. In October 2014, it was announced that the

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London. The theatre Established in 1932, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is one of the largest theatres in London (1,256 seats) and is situated in Queen Mary� ...

would present a new version of ''The Seagull'' by

Torben Betts Torben Betts (born 10 February 1968, in Stamford, Lincolnshire) is an English playwright, screenwriter and actor. Betts attended the University of Liverpool, where he read English Literature and English Language, and originally trained to bec ...

in 2015. The play opened on 19 June 2015 and received critical acclaim for its design by

Jon Bausor Jon Bausor is an international stage and costume designer for Theatre, Dance and Opera. Based in London, he is an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company and designed the opening ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic Games. Education Bau ...

and the new adaptation by Betts. In January 2015, Toronto's Crow's Theatre produced ''The Seagull'' in association with

Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is a non-profit contemporary performance arts company based in Toronto, Ontario, ''Canada''. About Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is one of Canada's largest not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies, based in Toronto, Ontari ...

and

The Company Theatre The Company Theatre is a Toronto-based independent theatre company that produces provocative international plays with Canada's best actors. History The Company Theatre (TCT) was created in 2004 by Canadian actors Allan Hawco and Philip Riccio. The ...

. Helmed by Crow's Theatre's Artistic Director Chris Abraham, the creative team was composed of set and costume designer Julie Fox, lighting designer Kimberly Purtell and sound designer Thomas Ryder Payne. The Robert Falls adaptation, based on a translation by George Calderon, featured an all-star Canadian cast: * Yanna McIntosh as Arkadina * Philip Riccio as Konstantin *

Eric Peterson Eric Neal Peterson (born October 2, 1946) is a Canadian stage, television, and film actor, known for his roles in three major Canadian series – '' Street Legal'' (1987–1994), '' Corner Gas'' (2004–2009), and '' This is Wonderland'' ...

as Sorin *

Christine Horne Christine Horne (born December 14, 1981, in Aurora, Ontario) is a Canadian actress who co-starred with Ellen Burstyn in the movie ''The Stone Angel''. She received her BFA in Theatre at York University in 2004 and has since become an establish ...

as Nina * Tara Nicoderma as Polina *

Tony Nappo Antonio Nappo is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Four Brothers'', '' Saw II'', ''Land of the Dead'', '' Bad Blood'', and '' Born to be Blue''. He also is the voice of Jimmy Falcone (McDougal) in ''Fugget About It''. Biograp ...

as Shamrayev *

Bahia Watson Bahia Watson (born May 15, 1992) is a Canadian actress and playwright, best known for her recurring role as Brianna/Oferic in the television series ''The Handmaid's Tale''. She grew up in Carman, Manitoba, the daughter of a Canadian father and a ...

as Masha * Tom Rooney as Trigorin *

Tom McCamus Tom McCamus (born July 25, 1955Tom McCamus' bio
at www.northernstars.ca) is a Canadia ...

as Dorn * Gregory Prest as Medvedenko * Marcus Jamin as Yakov In March 2015, Hurrah Hurrah and the Hot Blooded Theatre Company presented ''The Seagull'' in an unused shop-front with the help of

The Rocks Pop-up The Rocks Pop-Up was an initiative for activating temporarily vacant buildings by providing creative workers with access to affordable space to produce and showcase original work, and host unique events while a long-term tenant is secured. The Ro ...

. In 2016,

Thomas Ostermeier Thomas Ostermeier (born 3 September 1968, Soltau, West Germany) is a German theatre director. He currently mainly works for the Schaubühne. Biography Ostermeier began his theatrical career in 1990 acting under director Einar Schleef, one of hi ...

, director of Berlin's

Schaubühne The Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz (Theatre on Lehniner Square) is a famous theatre in the Wilmersdorf district of Berlin, located on the Kurfürstendamm boulevard. It is a conversion of the ''Universum'' cinema, built according to plans designe ...

theatre, directed ''The Seagull'' at the , Lausanne. In 2017, a new version by

Simon Stephens Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is an English playwright and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre for many years, he is now an Artistic ...

was staged at the Lyric Hammersmith in London, starring

Lesley Sharp Lesley Sharp is an English stage, film and television actress whose roles on British television include ''Clocking Off'' (2000–2001), ''Bob & Rose'' (2001) and ''Afterlife'' (2005–2006). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress ...

as Irina. In 2020,

Anya Reiss Anya Reiss (born in 1991) is a British playwright and screenwriter. Career The youngest writer to have a play staged in London, a graduate of the Royal Court's Young Writers Programme, she had her first play '' Spur of the Moment'' staged there ...

's adaptation of ''The Seagull'' began previews on 11 March in the

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

, starring

Emilia Clarke Emilia Isobel Euphemia Rose Clarke (born 23 October 1986) is an English actress. She is best known for her portrayal as Daenerys Targaryen in '' Game of Thrones''. She has received various accolades, including an Empire Award, a Saturn Award, ...

as Nina and

Indira Varma Indira Anne Varma (born 27 September 1973) is a British actress and narrator. Her film debut and first major role was in '' Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love''. She has gone on to appear in the television series ''The Canterbury Tales'', ''Rome'', ''L ...

as Irina. The production was suspended on 16 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic but subsequently reopened at the

Harold Pinter Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

in July 2022 and ran until September. Also in 2020, the

Auckland Theatre Company Auckland Theatre Company (ATC) is a professional theatre company in Auckland. It was founded in 1992 and since 2016 has been based in ASB Waterfront Theatre in the Wynyard Quarter in central Auckland. History Auckland Theatre Company (ATC) w ...

presented an on-line production during the COVID-19 lock down, using the device of a Zoom meeting for the stage. It was adapted by Eli Kent and Eleanor Bishop, who also directed it, with rehearsals and performances carried out online. It was well received by critics around the world, with ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

'' declaring it one of the "best plays to watch online." In March 2021, th
Crane Creations Theatre Company
led a play reading with its professional theatre artist team on its monthl
Play Date
The Play Date aims to raise awareness and appreciation of playwrights from around the world.

Analysis and criticism

It has been remarked that the play was "a spectacle of waste" (such as at the beginning of the play when Medvedenko asks Masha why she always wear black, she answers "Because I'm in mourning for my life."). The play also has an

intertextual Intertextuality is the shaping of a text's meaning by another text, either through deliberate compositional strategies such as quotation, allusion, calque, plagiarism, translation, pastiche or parody,Gerard Genette (1997) ''Paratexts'p.18/ref>H ...

relationship with

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''. Arkadina and Treplyov quote lines from it before the play-within-a-play in the first act (and this device is itself used in ''Hamlet''). There are many allusions to Shakespearean plot details as well. For instance, Treplyov seeks to win his mother back from the usurping older man Trigorin much as

tries to win

Queen Gertrude In William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Gertrude is Hamlet's mother and Queen of Denmark. Her relationship with Hamlet is somewhat turbulent, since he resents her marrying her husband's brother Claudius after he murdered the king (young Hamle ...

back from his uncle

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

Translation

''The Seagull'' was first translated into English for a performance at the Royalty Theatre, Glasgow, in November 1909. Since that time, there have been numerous translations of the text—from 1998 to 2004 alone there were 25 published versions. In the introduction of his own version,

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

wrote: "You can't have too many English Seagulls: at the intersection of all of them, the Russian one will be forever elusive." In fact, the problems start with the title of the play: there's no sea anywhere near the play's settings, – so the bird in question was in all likelihood a lake-dwelling

such as the common gull (''

larus canus The common gull or sea mew (''Larus canus'') is a medium-sized gull that breeds in the Palearctic, northern Europe. The closely related short-billed gull is sometimes included in this species, which may be known collectively as "mew gull". Man ...

''), rather than a nautical variant. In Russian both kinds of birds are named , simply meaning "gull", as in English. However, the name persists as it is much more euphonious in English than the much shorter and blunter sounding "The Gull", which comes across as too forceful and direct to represent the encompassing vague and partially hidden feelings beneath the surface. Therefore, the faint reference to the sea has been seen as a more fitting representation of the intent of the play. Some early translations of ''The Seagull'' have come under criticism from modern Russian scholars. The Marian Fell translation, in particular, has been criticized for its elementary mistakes and total ignorance of Russian life and culture. Peter France, translator and author of the book ''The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation'', wrote of Chekhov's multiple adaptations:

Notable English translations

Adaptations

Theatre

The American playwright

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

adapted the play as ''

The Notebook of Trigorin ''The Notebook of Trigorin'' is a play by American playwright Tennessee Williams, adapted from Anton Chekhov's drama ''The Seagull'' (1895). Williams based his adaptation primarily on Ann Dunnigan's 1960 translation. The play was first produced ...

'', which premiered in 1981. That year,

Thomas Kilroy Thomas F. Kilroy (born 23 September 1934) is an Irish playwright and novelist. He was born in Green Street, Callan, County Kilkenny. He attended St Kieran's College and played hurling for the school team, captaining the senior team in 1952. He ...

's adaptation, ''The Seagull'' also premiered at the

in London. The Canadian playwright

Daniel MacIvor Daniel MacIvor (born July 23, 1962) is a Canadian actor, playwright, theatre director, and film director. He is probably best known for his acting roles in independent films and the sitcom '' Twitch City''. Personal MacIvor was born in Sydney, No ...

wrote an adaptation called ''His Greatness''. In 2004, American playwright

Regina Taylor Regina Annette Taylor
''Film Reference''. (born August 22, 1960) is an American

's African-American adaptation, ''Drowning Crow'', was performed on Broadway. Emily Mann wrote and directed an adaptation called ''A Seagull in

the Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one o ...

''. The play premiered at the

McCarter Theatre McCarter Theatre Center is a not-for-profit, professional company on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. The institution is currently led by Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen and Managing Director Michael S. Rosenberg. ...

May 2008.

did a new version that premiered in 2011 at the Marin Theatre in Mill Valley using newly discovered material from Chekhov's original manuscripts. In pre-Revolutionary Russia, plays underwent censorship from two sources, the government censor and directors. The removed passages were saved in the archives of Russia, and unavailable till the fall of the Iron Curtain. In 2011, Benedict Andrews re-imagined the work as being set in a modern Australian beach in his production of the play at Sydney's Belvoir Theatre, which starred

Judy Davis Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress in film, television, and on stage. With a career spanning over 40 years, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequen ...

David Wenham David Wenham (born 21 September 1965) is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his roles as Faramir in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Friar Carl in '' Van Helsing'', Dilios in '' 300'' ...

and Maeve Darmody. He did this to explore the ideas of liminal space and time. In October 2011, it was announced that a contemporary

Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one of ...

-set film adaptation, ''Relative Insanity'', will be directed by the acting coach Larry Moss, starring

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as writ ...

, Helen Hunt,

Maggie Grace Margaret Grace Denig (born ) is an American actress and model. She is known for playing Shannon Rutherford on the ABC television series ''Lost'' (2004–2006; 2010), Kim Mills in the '' Taken'' trilogy (2008–2014), Irina in ''The Twilight Sa ...

and

Joan Chen Joan Chen (born April 26, 1961) is a Chinese-American actress and film director. In China, she performed in the 1979 film and came to the attention of American audiences for her performance in the 1987 film '' The Last Emperor''. She is also ...

. In 2013, a deconstruction of the play by

Aaron Posner Aaron Posner is an American playwright and theater director. He was co-founder of the Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia and was the artistic director of Two River Theatre from 2006 to 2010. He has directed over 100 productions at major region ...

, set in the modern day under the title '' Stupid Fucking Bird'', was premiered at the

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is a non-profit theatre company located at 641 D Street NW in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1980, it produces new plays which it believes to be edgy, challenging, and thought-provokin ...

in Washington, D.C.; it won the 2014 Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical and has been staged widely across American theatres. A 2022 gender fluid adaptation of the Tom Stoppard version was completed by the Doris Place Players to great success in Los Angeles. In 2022,

starred in

’ adaption in

Harold Pinter Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

in London. It was described as a unique 21st century modernisation.

Film

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. He was nominated five times for the Academy Award: four for Best Director for ''12 Angry Men'' (1957), ''Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), ''Network'' (1976), ...

's 1968 film ''

The Sea Gull ''The Sea Gull'' is a 1968 British-American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet. The screenplay by Moura Budberg is adapted and translated from Anton Chekhov's classic 1896 play ''The Seagull''. The Warner Bros.-Seven Arts release was filmed a ...

'' used

Moura Budberg Maria Ignatievna von Budberg-Bönninghausen (russian: Мария (Мура) Игнатьевна Закревская-Бенкендорф-Будберг, ''Maria (Moura) Ignatievna Zakrevskaya-Benckendorff-Budberg'', née Zakrevskaya; February ...

's translation. The play was also adapted as the Russian film ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises th ...

'' in 1972. The 2003 film '' La petite Lili'' from director

Claude Miller Claude Miller (20 February 1942 – 4 April 2012) was a French film director, producer and screenwriter. Life and career Claude Miller was born to a Jewish family. A student at Paris' IDHEC film school from 1962 through 1963, Miller had his fi ...

, starring

Ludivine Sagnier Ludivine Sagnier (born 3 July 1979) is a French actress and model who has appeared on screen since 1989. She was nominated three times for the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''Swimming Pool'' (2003), '' Peter Pan'' (2003), and ''A ...

as Nina renamed Lili, updates Chekhov's play to contemporary France in the world of the cinema.

Christian Camargo Christian Camargo (né Minnick; born July 7, 1971) is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Brian Moser in the Showtime drama ''Dexter'', Michael Corrigan in the Netflix drama '' House ...

directed a 2014 film adaptation of the play, titled '' Days and Nights'', set in rural New England during the 1980s. The film starred Camargo,

William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. ...

Allison Janney Allison Brooks Janney (born November 19, 1959) is an American actress. In a career spanning three decades, she is known for her performances across multiple genres of screen and stage. Janney has received various accolades, including an Academ ...

, Katie Holmes,

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960) is a British actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Laurence ...

, and

Juliet Rylance Juliet Rylance (born Juliet van Kampen; 26 July 1979) is an English actress and producer, known for her roles in ''The Knick'' and ''McMafia''. Early life Rylance was born as Juliet van Kampen in Hammersmith, London, to Claire van Kampen, a c ...

. An American film titled ''

'' went into production in 2015. It was released on May 11, 2018, by Sony Pictures Classics; directed by Michael Mayer with a screenplay by Stephen Karam, starring

Annette Bening Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over four decades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominati ...

and

Saoirse Ronan Saoirse Una Ronan ( , ; born 12 April 1994) is an American-born Irish actress. Primarily known for her work in period dramas since adolescence, she has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations fo ...

. A contemporary Afrikaans-language film adaptation directed by Christiaan Olwagen, titled ''Die Seemeeu'', debuted at the Kyknet Silwerskermfees on 23 August 2018. Cintaine Schutte won the Best Supporting Actress award for her portrayal of Masha.

Opera

The play was the basis for the 1974 opera ''

'' by

Thomas Pasatieri Thomas Pasatieri (born October 20, 1945) is an American opera composer. Life and career Pasatieri was born in New York City, United States. He began composing at age 10 and, as a teenager, studied with Nadia Boulanger. He entered the Juilliard S ...

to an English

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

Kenward Elmslie Kenward Gray Elmslie (April 27, 1929 – June 29, 2022) was an American author, performer, editor and publisher associated with the New York School of poetry. Life and career Kenward Gray Elmslie was born to William and Constance Pulitzer in M ...

Musical

The 1987 musical ''

Birds of Paradise The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of ...

'' by

Winnie Holzman Winnie Holzman (born August 18, 1954 in Manhattan) is an American dramatist, screenwriter, and poet. She is known for having created the ABC television series ''My So-Called Life'', which led to a nomination for a scriptwriting Emmy Award in 199 ...

and David Evans is a metatheatrical adaptation, both loosely following the original play and containing a musical version of the play as the Konstantin equivalent's play. In 2015, the play was adapted into ''Songbird'', a country musical by Michael Kimmel and Lauren Pritchard. ''Songbird'' sets its story in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

and centers around Tammy Trip, a fading country star. Tammy returns to the

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ( tack piano) ...

where she got her start to help her estranged son launch his own music career. The show was produced at

59E59 Theaters 59E59 Theaters is a curated rental venue located in New York City that consists of three theater spaces or stages. It shows both off-Broadway (in Theater A) and off-off-Broadway plays (in Theaters B and C). The complex is owned and operated by ...

and featured

Kate Baldwin Katherine Baldwin (born May 2, 1975) is an American singer and actress known for her work in musical theater. She received a Tony Award nomination for her work in the 2009 Broadway revival of ''Finian's Rainbow''. She also co-starred opposite Bet ...

and

Erin Dilly Erin Dilly (born May 12, 1972) is an American actress. She is most noted for her portrayal of Truly Scrumptious in the 2005 musical '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'', for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Act ...

. It was recognized as a

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Critic's Pick.

Ballet

It was made into a ballet by

John Neumeier John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He has been the director and chief choreographer of Hamburg Ballet since 1973. Five years later he founded the Hamburg Ballet School, which also in ...

with his

Hamburg Ballet The Hamburg Ballet is a ballet company based in Hamburg, Germany. Since 1973, it has been directed by the American dancer and choreographer John Neumeier. In addition there is a ballet school, , established in 1978. The performances of the Hamb ...

company in June 2002. This version re-imagined the main characters as coming from the world of dance. Arkadina became a famous prima ballerina, Nina was a young dancer on the brink of her career. Konstantin appeared as a revolutionary young choreographer and Trigorin as an older, more conventional choreographer. An earlier ballet in two acts, by Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin, was first performed at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow in 1980.

References

Notes Sources * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* *
Full text of ''The Seagull'' in the original Russian

Cast List of 2007/8 RSC Production
*
The 120th Anniversary of Chekhov's ''The Seagull''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seagull, The 1896 plays Plays by Anton Chekhov Plays adapted into operas Plays adapted into ballets Russian plays adapted into films Tragedy plays