THE SEAGULL. To 18 June.
Colchester
THE SEAGULL
by Anton Chekhov adapted by Mike Poulton
Mercury Theatre To 18 June 2005
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Mat 9, 16, 18 June 2.30pm
Runs 2hr 50min One interval
TICKETS: 01206 573948
Review: Timothy Ramsden 6 June
A Seagull that takes flight and soars at the end.A writer effortful young experimentalist Konstantin, or successful middle-aged mediocrity Trigorin - sits alone at the start of each act. One writes plays, the other stories, reflecting Chekhov's own literary output. Behind them are the 2 neat prosceniums of Sara Perks's set. But life's less orderly than that. By the end, one writer will be quietly announcing the other's death. Around these neat arches there's rough, blasted brickwork. The stage of Konstantin's outdoor play-within-the-play looks not onto the lake the play describes but to a receding roadway, torn up at the far end, as if a terrorists had been at work disrupting these lives.
David Hunt's production is not quite a great one. That's maybe to do with limited rehearsal time, for its points stand out where they could sometimes benefit from relaxing into the general warp of events. It is still a very fine, freshly-invented account in Mike Poulton's highly speakable version of the script.
Ignatius Anthony's intense-mannered, peering-eyed Trigorin, for all he wishes a life of fishing, is vehement rather than resigned about the dissatisfaction of the successful novelist's life, while David Nicolle's impressive Konstantin is less flamboyant than many. Being son to the self-obsessed star actress Arkadina has subdued his manner; even the moment he stops his own play being performed after Arkadina's interruptions is businesslike rather than noticeably temperamental.
Nichola McAuliffe plays with a fine lightness of touch which fits this production, which plays the ending supremely well. It's common that Trigorin's serious news to Dorn ((Michael Hadley, superbly economic) is offset by trivial merriment at the card table. Hunt brilliantly amplifies this to show the force of love. Those in love suspect there's bad news. Masha (Katy Stephens, neck-hunchingly intense throughout and not, as so often, overplaying the character's alcoholism) dashes to see for herself what's happened in the next room (Dorn quickly locks the door), while Christine Absalom's Polina senses something's amiss with the man she secretly loves.
Against this, the others' unawareness and Arkadina's relaxed, smoking attitude as she browses through a magazine makes for a magnificent, moving conclusion encapsulating the play's world.
Medvendenko: Colm Gormley
Masha: Katy Stephens
Sorin: Geoff Leesley
Konstantin: David Nicolle
Nina: Elizabeth Nestor
Polina: Christine Absalom
Dorn: Michael Hadley
Shamrayev: Peter Dineen
Arkadina: Nichola McAuliffe
Trigorin: Ignatius Anthony
Yakov: Neil Swanson
Workman: Darren Abel
Cook: Alicia Barry-Jones
Director: David Hunt
Designer: Sara Perks
Lighting: Oliver Fenwick
Sound: Marcus Christensen
Composer: Ansuman Biswas
Physical Action consultant: Richard Ryan
2005-06-13 08:30:11