Have you been to see The Seagull yet? You’ve got less than a week to catch it. Digital Reporter Chris Ogden reviews it for you…
The opening night of The Seagull ‘s first production, held at the Alexandrine Theatre in Saint Petersburg in 1896, was a famous disaster. Intimidated by a mutinous audience, the leading actress playing Nina, Vera Komissarzhevskaya, lost her voice; Anton Chekhov spent the last two acts hiding backstage, vowing never to write plays again. Thankfully Anya Reiss’ modern adaptation of Chekhov’s masterpiece had a far more felicitous start at the Lowry, the final Library Theatre Company production to be hosted there before its big move HOME next year.
From The Seagull ‘s very first scene – Victoria Lloyd’s smoking, black-clad Masha declaring without irony, ‘I’m in mourning for my life,’ on a glistening lakeside estate under a bare tree which hints of Beckett – the atmosphere is natural and unhurried, respectful to the original play’s thoughtfulness. The plot chiefly concerns the tortured upstart playwright Konstantin (reinvented with millennial aplomb by the undercut-sporting, laptop-fiddling Ben Allen) and the love/art rectangle that forms between him, his fading actress mother Arkadina (the ardent Susie Trayling), the popular writer Trigorin (played with excellent distraction by Graeme Hawley) and Sophie Robinson’s flowing ingénue Nina. There are clear parallels to Hamlet here, and Chris Honer’s direction stays true to that precursor’s lack of concern for action, instead keeping our focus on conversation and tone.
The set design is a key figure in this, geared towards subtle variations of sound and space which frame the play in transition. As the soft hues of light on the backdrop slowly shift time from evening to midday to a rainy afternoon four years later, the characters’ arguments segue into patient monologues then back, unafraid to leave us hanging on interpretations of money, aging, or success: ‘I don’t like myself as a person, really,’ Trigorin explains to the awestruck Nina, ‘my writing less.’ Suspended in an aura of silence but for sounds of birdsong, crickets and planes, The Seagull ‘s delicacy doesn’t mean that there aren’t laugh-out-loud moments too, most notably during the well-controlled chaos of Konstantin and Nina’s attempts to produce a symbolist play by the lake.
Despite four characters demanding the majority of our attention, The Seagull ‘s emphasis on family relies on all of its ten-strong cast; thankfully, each of them succeeds here to give a remarkable ensemble performance. David Crellin delivers a beaming Shamrayev replete with Yorkshire brogue, contrasted to Meriel Schofield’s concerned Polina and Lloyd’s Masha, and Christopher Wright puts in a singing turn as the straw fedora-wearing, satisfied doctor Dorn. The most poignant portrayal by the supporting cast is Peter McQueen’s old man Sorin: wise, hobbling, his presence waning as the play goes on. His performance in particular makes us conscious of the quiet complexity and interconnectedness of familial relationships, and how they sustain as well as damage us.
Ultimately Reiss’ interpretation of The Seagull recognises that giving some time to meandering exchanges remains more revealing than showing us what happens with Chekhov’s famous gun. The modern updates don’t always go unnoticed- it’s jarring to hear Tom McHugh’s Medvedenko prattling on about his sister’s mobile phone contract, and the bingo game late on is replaced, entertainingly, with a game of Bullshit – but this is a magnificent, bitter-sweet exploration of love, class, and creativity which only emphasises that however much time flies, there are some questions which will always shoot us down.
The Seagull runs until Sat 8 Mar 2014 at The Lowry. You can book tickets online here or from The Lowry Box Office on 0843 208 6010.