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| Michael Sparks (Dr Yevgeny Dorm) - Neil McLeod (Pyotr Sorin) - Karen Vickery (Irina Arkadina) - Natasha Vickery (Nina Zarechnaya) in "Seagull". |
Written by Anton Chekhov – Translated by Karen Vickery
Directed by
Caitlin Baker – Assistant Director/Designer – Karen Vickery
Lighting
Design by Sophia Carlton – Sound Design by Neville Pye
ACTHUB at
Causeway Hall - April 10th to 24th 2024.
Opening
night performance on 10th April reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.
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| Michael Sparks (Dr Yevgeny Dorn) - James McMahon (Boris Trigorin) - Karen Vickery (Irina Arkadina) in "Seagull" |
It was not
until Moscow Art Theatre director, Konstantin Stanislavski convinced Chekhov to
allow him to produce “The Seagull” that the merits of the play were revealed
and it has become a staple for theatre companies around the world.
Chekhov
devotee, Karen Vickery, has named her theatre company, Chaika Theatre, after
this play, (Chaika being the Russian word for Seagull) and has taken advantage
of the unique possibilities offered by the historic Causeway Hall, to write her
own translation of the play and produce this innovative, site-specific
production for which she is the assistant director and designer, as well as
starring as the aging actress, Irina Arkadina.
Vickery’s
translation moves the action into the present day. The first two acts, originally
set in the gardens of an estate in Melikhovo in central Russia, are performed outdoors, under the
tall trees surrounding the Causeway Hall. Gas heaters and thoughtfully provided
blankets, keep the audience cosy despite the crispness of a perfect Canberra
Autumn night.
The audience
then move into the Causeway Hall, which with the addition of some well-chosen antique
furniture provides a handsome environment as the interior of the estate in
which the events of the second act take place.
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| Joel Horwood as Konstantin Treplyov in "Seagull" |
The play commences with Masha Shamrayev (Meaghan Stewart) and Semyon Medvedenko (Cameron Thomas) busily setting up a makeshift theatre for the forthcoming performance of Konstantin Treplyov’s (Joel Horwood) play-within-the-play in which the leading role will be played by Nina Zarechnaya (Natasha Vickery) with whom Konstantin is in love, but who has ambitions of becoming an actress.
Other guests
arrive, but Konstantin is too distracted to pay much attention to them as he is
nervous about how his mother, famed actress Irina Arkadina (Karen Vickery) will
respond to both his play and Nina. Eventually Irina arrives with her young
lover, Boris Trigorin (James McMahon). Nina and Boris are immediately attracted
to each other.
Predictably Irina
laughs at Konstantin’s play, describing it as incomprehensible and ridiculous,
causing Konstantin to storm off in a rage.
Although the
central focus of the play is essentially on the relationships between Konstantin,
his mother Irina, the budding actress Nina and Irina’s lover Boris Trigorin,
the first act also sets up a series of other romantic relationships.
Although Semyon
is in love with Masha, the daughter of the estate manager’s Ilya Shamrayev (Arran
McKenna) and his wife Polina Shamrayev (Amy Kowalczuk), Masha is in love with
Konstantin, who is in love with Nina. However Nina falls for Irina’s lover,
Boris, and Polina is having an affair
with Dr. Yevgeny Dorn (Michael Sparks).
Normally these
relationships can be difficult to keep up with. However the clarity of Vickery’s
modern language translation, the stripped-back, atmospheric production which
places the emphasis squarely on Chekhov’s writing, and the tightly focussed
direction by Caitlin Baker, result in a compelling, often riveting narrative.
The actors wear
modern day clothes with clever understated references to the original Russian setting. They speak in everyday language without any attempt at accents. Even
though the words they speak are clearly modern, with occasional clunky
contemporary references, the thoughts they express are unmistakably Chekhov’s,
so that the arguments the characters engage in about theatre, love, ageing and
death, fascinate by how little human thinking has changed over nearly 130
years.
Karen
Vickery offers a tour-de-force performance as Irina Arkadina. Self-aware,
wilful, seductive and wilfully destructive, Irina reveals her motherly
instincts only fleetingly as she bandages Konstantin’s head wound. As Irina,Vickery
dominates the stage in every scene in which she appears.
Excellent
performances abound in this production. Matching Vickery’s performance, Joel
Horwood’s depiction of Konstantin, Irina’s desperately unhappy son, driven to
desperation by his mother’s refusal to recognise his talent, and his
frustration at his own inadequacies, is simply riveting.
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| Amy Kowalczuk (Polina Shamrayev) - Meaghan Stewart ( Masha Shamrayev) Michael Sparks (Dr Yevgeny Dorn) - Cameron Thomas (Semyon Medvedenko) |
Natasha
Vickery as the giggly, Nina Zarechnaya, the object of Konstantin’s affections, who,
costumed in glittering silver sequins in Konstantin’s play, captures the heart
of Irina’s compliant lover, Boris Trigorin; James McMahon as Trigorin; Arran McKenna, seething with passive/aggressive
menace as Ilya Shamrayev; Amy Kowalczuk as his outwardly calm but
inwardly terrified wife, Polina; Michael Sparks as Konstantin’s only champion,
Dr Yevgeny Dorn, Neil McLeod as the aged Pyotr Sorin; and Cameron Thomas as
Masha’s despised fiancé, Semyon
Medvedenko, all offer carefully delineated characterisations in an excellent
ensemble cast.
For anyone who’s
previously considered Chekhov’s plays dense or dreary, this clever, thoughtful
and decidedly entertaining production of Chekhov’s enduring romcom, is guaranteed
to convert you. For those already aware of the power of Chekhov’s writing, this is
a production which could prove a revelation.
