6/10/2023 0 Comments Play the seagull![]() Photo: Marc BrennerĪnya Reiss’s translation captures the internal turmoil and heartache of Chekhov’s characters while updating it with references to wearing hoodies around the house (hello lockdown), inflation and the rising cost of living. Emilia Clarke (Nina), Indira Varma (Arkadina), Daniel Monks (Konstantin) & Tom Rhys Harries (Trigorin). ![]() At least initially, professional success also alludes the brooding, wannabe playwright Konstantin (Daniel Monks), living the shadow of his actress mother Arkadina (Indira Varma), and amateur actress Nina (Clarke), who is infatuated with the celebrated writer and young lover of Arkadina, Trigorin (Tom Rhys Harries). Love triangles are rife among this lust-plagued lot, most of whom are admired by one party but pining after another. ![]() Like all four of Chekhov’s major plays, The Seagull sees its characters marooned together on a country estate, where some yearn for a more interesting life. ![]() It worked with the company’s rap-fuelled Cyrano de Bergerac, starring James McAvoy sans prosthetic snout, and so it does here, with their pandemic-delayed take on The Seagull, with Emilia Clarke ( Last Christmas, Game of Thrones) leading a masterly ensemble in animating Chekhov’s big reflection on the angst-ridden lives of playwrights and their players. The Jamie Lloyd Company is nurturing a winning formula: take a classic play, front it with a Hollywood star and stage it minimalistically, daring the audience to suspend their disbelief, watching the drama unfold on an almost bare stage. ![]()
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