by Julie-Anne Whitney
‘The Seagull’ – Written by Anton Chekhov; Conceived and directed by Igor Golyak; Script translation by Ryan McKittrick, Julia Smeliansky, and Laurence Senelick; Scenic Design by Nikolay Simonov; Costume Design by Nastya Bugaeva; Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg; Original Music by Jakov Jakoulov; Produced by the Arlekin Players Theatre at Studio 368 in Needham, MA through December 8, 2019.
As you walk up the stairs into Studio 368, the home of the Arlekin Players, and into the intimate black box theater, you feel a sense of uncertainty: the space is separated into three sections with two seating areas to choose from – one on the left and one on the right – with the performance space placed directly in the center of the room. There is a wooden arch with two black doors on either side and a large circle of sand in the middle of the floor. The space feels ominous- the only light emanating from the floor and from a few naked bulbs on the wall. You take a seat and you wait.
Suddenly, a door opens and a storm of actors rushes in- looking frustrated, frightened, exhausted. You thought you were here to see The Seagull, but you quickly realize that you’re not just getting a dose of Chekhovian drama tonight, you’re getting something much more interesting than you could have imagined…
Chekhov’s The Seagull was first produced in St. Petersburg in 1896. Initially intended as a comedy, today it is widely perceived as a tragedy, with an ensemble cast led by four protagonists: a famous fiction writer, Boris Trigorin (played with steadiness and spirit by Nael Nacer); his devoted lover, a renowned but fading actress, Irina Arkadina (played with tenderness and grit by Anne Gottlieb); her son, Konstantin Treplev (played by the vivacious Eliott Purcell), an anxious but hopeful young playwright; and Treplev’s unrequited love, Nina Zarechnaya (played by the luminous Irina Bordian), a naive, eager girl determined to be on the stage.
The Seagull has been adapted into more than half a dozen films, countless plays, and even a few ballets, but Arlekin Players’ new adaptation is not your average Chekhov experience. Mirroring Treplev’s play within The Seagull itself, this production is what is known as Symbolist Theatre – a play with highly stylized dialogue and an acting style that is intentionally anti-realistic. Director Igor Golyak’s program note further explains that “by mixing different languages (English, French, Italian, Russian, and Spanish), and going deep into exploring Chekhov’s world of creation through his journals, letters and the play itself, we are looking to answer our own struggles as artists and as people in the 21st century.”
Golyak’s bold new concept begins with a troupe of actors offering conflicting perspectives on what theater is and should be. Treplev states, “If you ask me, contemporary theater is stuck in a rut and full of clichés…they offer the same thing in a thousand variations over and over and over again…What we need are new forms. We need new forms. And if there aren’t any, then we’re better off without theater at all.” While Trigorin says, “You want to argue about the theater? Do what you must, but you won’t argue me out of my dislike for the scaffold on which they execute dramatists. The modern theater is a world of dimwits, obtuseness, and idle gossip.” Finally, Masha (played with dark humor by Darya Denisova) quiets the group by saying, “I think it is time for artists to confess that in this world you cannot make heads or tails of anything.”
Golyak himself then casts Chekhov’s play right in front of you, with each actor stepping forward to accept the roles they were seemingly destined to take on. And so The Seagull (or something like it), begins with the mounting of Konstantin’s new work, starring Nina in a bewildering performance art piece that leaves everyone speechless. Afterward, Trigorin rightly says, “I didn’t understand a thing. Although, I did enjoy watching it.” What follows for the next two hours is a brave, experimental reimagining of one of Anton Chekhov’s greatest works.
Golyak’s inventive staging leaves a lot of room for the actors to play. Watching this ensemble use the small studio space is like watching a group of kids on a playground. They use the doors for hide and seek, a pseudo clown car, and monkey bars; they use transparent black curtains as walls, veils, a bandage, and a noose; they use the sand to signify space and to symbolize the shifting state of each character’s mind; they use a hammock for a bed; and a coffin for a table. They run and stomp and spin and dance around the room with ceaseless energy, but there are moments of stillness, too.
In Trigorin’s tortured artist speech- the glowing centerpiece of this production – actor Nael Nacer holds the audience in the palm of his hand as he bemoans to Nina: “Day and night I’m hounded by the same nagging thought: I have to write, I have to write, I have to write…I can’t give myself a moment’s rest. I feel like I’m devouring my own life; taking the pollen from my best flowers, tearing them up and stomping on the roots, just to give away some honey to people out there who I don’t even know.”
As the play moves forward, all the characters seem to move backward as they repeatedly clash with themselves and each other over the complexities of love, jealousy, success, and happiness. As is the case in most Chekhov plays, the characters spend much of their time yearning for things they do not have, yet take no action to change their fate. The play ends with the loss of the two youngest and most promising among them (Nina and Konstantin), and in Golyak’s masterful hands, Nina’s famous “I am the seagull” speech is turned into a veritable Shakespearean mad scene.
…You fall back into your seat, having just been whiplashed by this extraordinary event. Was it a play? Was it a dance? Was it a dream? What you do know is that you have been deeply and unexpectedly moved by this strange, wonderful piece of art. It has made an impression on you. It has left an impact. And you think to yourself: this may have been my first Arlekin Players production, but it will certainly not be my last. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.arlekinplayers.com/
