Reader Reviews
The Seagull (Lyttelton (National Theatre), West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | This play had me enthralled and often of the edge of my seat. Chekov has a reputation of being heavy-going and difficult to watch, however in this version I truly felt I could identify with many of the (beautifully flawed) characters. The story was told with a strong sense of reality, this added sense of voyuerism, heightened the sordidness of twisted little relationships - like watching your neighbours fight from behind the curtains. I have never seen this play performed before so I can't know how it is 'supposed' to go; but I can say that this play was wonderful piece of theatre in its own right and should be judged on its own merit. - 87.74.34.117) | 11 Sep 06 |
| Where on earth did this director get her 'reputation' from? And why does the National keep employing her to cut up the classics with productions like this? The whole ghastly thing reeks of sixth form earnestness. Where is the lightness of touch that made Chekhov call this a comedy? The only real insight on offer here is that Katie Mitchell is not what so many critics (OK, I mean the headbanging Guardian and Independent critics) have been making her out to be all these years. Tripe from start to finish. - 217.196.231.33) | 09 Aug 06 |
| I rather enjoyed this production - the set and design is superb and the sense of evesdropping on a family in crisis is deeply moving and troubling. I had no problems with hearing, as other reviewers have noted, so either this has been improved or I benefited from being a tightwad and sitting in the cheap seats close to the stage. The acting is first rate - very naturalistic and real. Only Sandy McDade didn't really work for me, but then she was the only one praised in the WOS review! I agree that the changed ending is less effective than the original but that apart, I thought it was a less stylised Chekhov than is usually seen and it was closer in spirit to the excellent Maly Theatre's Vanya last year - and there can be no higher praise in my book than that. After all, if Maly don't know how to do the Russian greats, then no one does. I found it moving and intense - which is what I want from my Chekhov. - 82.2.87.180) | 07 Aug 06 |
| Dear, dear, dear. The appointment of Nick Hytner as director of the National was one of the greatest things to happen to the theatre capital. He is one of the bravest artistic directors to have come along in recent years. The work he comissions is not safe, it is edgy, has risks, bold, sometimes they dont work most of the time they do. People need to live in the twenty first century Hytner is championing the new theatre wave. This production was one of those triumphs, I believe Katie Mitchell and her work is the closest thing we have in this country to what Checkhov intended. This production is totally natural, I felt like I was evesdropping on a family's life, Mitchell brings in ingenious ideas such as having a party still going on through the window. The actors were totally lost inside the world of their characters, they had lost themselves for three hours, a rare thing to see on the British stage. I loved the translation, it was modern and took risks. I have performed Checkhov before and what Crimp has done is to change the language to something that will enable modern actors to feel completely comfortable, the only quirp I have is his changing of the end. Normally Dorn takes Trigorin to the side and tells only him of konstantin's suicide. I disliked the way Crimp has changed it to Dorn loudly exclaiming this fact to everyone, the transition makes no sense. Aside from that the ensemble is first class, another hit for the National, currently Britains greatest power house of theatrical merit. - 80.225.173.14) | 26 Jul 06 |
| I give this production a three for the set and the staging which are amazing. Can't comment on the acting, as the lighting is so dark it was impossible to see any faces! A shame as it could have been so good. - 62.252.64.30) | 23 Jul 06 |
| I really enjoyed this director's 'A Dream Play'. I don't really like Chekov - it seems to me nothing ever happens. So, I was expecting to enjoy this 'de-construction'. I'm afraid I found it arrogant (it's not really The Seagull), pompous (as an interpretation of Not-The-Seagull) and completely irritating (more racing around and door-slamming that a brace of farces). Beware - it's 100 minutes to the interval ! - 86.130.219.140) | 13 Jul 06 |
| This was my first experience of The Seagull but even I could tell that this is a bizarre production. The relationships between the characters are unclear, some of the casting is daft (Sandy McDade is a fine actress but she cannot pass for 22) and the apparently changed ending is a dreadful let-down. Sadly much of the acting is also sub-standard, particularly Juliet Stevenson who fails to convey any believable emotion and must have been barely audible from any further than ten rows back. Finally the scenes with more door slamming than a Whitehall farce quickly became distracting and tiresome. After a series of exceptional revivals at the Lyttelton this is a major disappointment. - 62.6.139.13) | 05 Jul 06 |
| I must agree with ** 28th June I too was very disappointed at this production of The Seagull. At one point I would not have been at all surprised if a Brian Rix character had come running through one of the constantly opening and closing doors with his trousers around his ankles. Actually it might have helped this troubled production if he'd done so. I am not averse to trying new ideas with old plays. The RSC have done brilliant things with Shakespeare over the years. But not the NT with Chekov in this case. Unfortunately this isn't, for me anyway, the one duff show in the Nationals calender for the year. Once in a Life Time failed miserably as did Trevor Nunn's Royal Hunt of the Sun - directed by the great man as if it were a musical! I think the wonderful Nick Hytner, who has no doubt been side-tracked by the terrific success of The History Boys in NYC, has taken his hands of the rudder. He needs to get the company back on course and soon. By the way the set was brilliant - so ***** and well done to the National's chippys. - 195.93.21.129) | 05 Jul 06 |
| intense and beautiful. fine fine acting and direction. but you must sit as close as possible as the lighting is very dark. - 86.136.82.162) | 28 Jun 06 |
| I was astonished by this pared down version. It was almost dumbed down. The relationships between Masha and her husband and between her mother, father and the doctor were all suppressed in favour of the mother/son dynamics between Arkadina and Konstantin played by wimpy Whishaw. The anacronistic in reverse effects of plastic, high heels and tangoing I found aggravating. I rather puritanically feel that Chekhov should not be updated. It is all about the context of pre revolutionary Russia not 1930s nowhere. The most annoying thing, however, was that we could not hear any of the cast apart from Juliet Stevenson which had everyone around us asking what was going on. I understand they have ironed out a lot of the problems but overall it was a very disappointing performance and the ending was absurd. Chekhov wrote it as a comedy and I think this was quite lost. A shame, because it seems the Director is so well respected. The impact of the seagull itself was lost as we couldn't see it at the end. The constant motion was an odd way to represent the inertia of the provincial characters. If you do not already know the play you will miss out on an enormous amount of what Chekhov is trying to tell us and if you do know the play, you will be very grumpy by the end. I couldn't help thinking that Juliet Stevenson's roar at the end of the play (not in the original version) was more relief that she could go home. - 62.31.209.47) | 28 Jun 06 |
| Some excellent acting was somewhat marred by poor audibility in the auditorium. Also, the first 40 minutes were acted on an almost entirely dark stage, so the double-whammy of finding it hard to hear and hard to see did somewhat mar the evening! But there is much to be applauded in the production, with excellent acting, particularly Juliet Stevenson and Gawn Grainger. I found it hard to believe in Konstantin's grand passion for Nina, though; having greatly admired Ben Whishaw as Hamlet at the Old Vic, I was unconvinced by his portrayal of the young lover. But we saw the play very early on, it still has time to bed in. - 83.104.38.117) | 27 Jun 06 |
