THE SEAGULL RSC till 23 June
THE SEAGULL: Anton Chekhov
RSC: Courtyard, Stratford Upon Avon
Tkts: 0870 609 1110, www.rsc.org.uk
Runs: 3h 10m, one interval, till Sat June 23
Review: Rod Dungate, 31 May 2007
Passion and comedy in a satisfying mix
I think THE CHERRY ORCHARD is one of the greatest plays ever written; I’ve never really warmed to THE SEAGULL. Now I like it a whole lot better. The first thing to say about Trevor Nunn’s production is how beautifully it sits in the Courtyard’s thrust staging. (Christopher Oram’s designs are beautiful). Although the Courtyard is a large space, the production has a great intimacy.
The company plays to this intimacy giving the production a naturalness that sustains it throughout. From this emerges with ease both genuine comedy and humour, and pessimistic naturalism; Nunn’s production keeps these in a delicate equilibrium, important in achieving Chekhov’s tone. The production gives us fresh insights which are always welcome. Having said this, there are occasional modernisms in Nunn’s text that jar.
The characters in this production may sit around talking much of the time, but when they talk they talk with great passion. Their passion may be misplaced or over-the-top – from which stems much of the comedy – but it’s genuine. Nowhere could this be clearer than in Guy Williams’s seething with frustration Shamrayev.
Frances Barber’s Arkadina is elegantly self-obsessed, a woman definitely living on the edge. Richard Goulding’s Konstantin is heartbreakingly vulnerable. Goulding brings the extremes of this character together in a gratifying whole. Monica Dolan’s rough edged, deeply flawed Masha is riveting.
Ian McKellen’s rather dotty Sorin is completely adorable; McKellen’s sense of comedy and timing comes gloriously to the fore. Gerald Kyd gives us a Trigorin chillingly disinterested in everything around him, an observer, a writer, without a heart. Even his passion for Nina is experienced at a distance.
Romola Garai’s Nina is full of naïve energy and she throws herself into all she approaches. Nina’s final speeches (‘I am a seagull’ . . . ) show us, I feel, a Chekhov not yet master of his art, he’s still developing – and why shouldn’t he be? They’re difficult for an actor to deliver convincingly. However, Garai and Goulding create a strong relationship for these final moments that carry them. The play reaches its famously melodramatic ending in a comedically underplayed way and we are left completely satisfied.
Arkadina: Frances Barber
Konstantin: Richard Goulding
Sorin: William Gaunt / Ian McKellen
Nina: Romola Garai
Shamrayev: Guy Williams
Polina: Melanie Jess op
Masha: Monica Dolan
Trigorin: Gerald Kyd
Dorn: Jonathan Hyde
Medvedenko: Ben Meyjes
Yakov: Peter Hinton
Arkadina’s maid: Zoe Boyle
The Cook: Naomi Capron
The Butler: David Weston
House Servants: Seymour Matthews, Ben Addis, Russell Byrne
Estate Workers: Adam Booth, Julian Harries, John Heffernan, Philip Winchester
Directed by: Trevor Nunn
Designed by: Christopher Oram,
Lighting Designed by:: Neil Austin
Music Composed by: Steven Edis
Sound Designed by: Fergus O'Hare
Assistant Director: Gemma Fairlie
Music Director: Jeff Moore
Associate Designer: Morgan Large
company Voice Work by: Lyn Darnley
Casting by: Sam Jones
2007-06-02 16:32:06