Theatre
The Seagull
Чайка
Anton Chekhov · 1896
Opening lines
Медведенко
Отчего вы всегда ходите в черном?
Why do you always wear black?
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from ru.wikisource.org
Synopsis
On Sorin's country estate, beside a lake, Konstantin Treplev, son of the famous actress Arkadina, dreams of a new theatre and has a play of his own composition performed by Nina, a girl from a neighbouring estate who wants to become an actress. His mother ridicules the play in front of everyone. Nina turns to Arkadina's lover, the famous novelist Trigorin. Around them, loves cross without being answered: Medvedenko loves Masha, who loves Konstantin, who loves Nina.
Context
Written in 1895, the play was first performed on 17 October 1896 at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. It was a complete failure: faced with the hostility of the house, Vera Komissarzhevskaya, who played Nina, lost her voice. In 1898 Konstantin Stanislavski staged it again at the Moscow Art Theatre, which he had founded with Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, and it triumphed there. The theatre took the seagull as its emblem.
Who it is for
A comedy in four acts, according to the author's subtitle; two versions, that of 1895 and that of the first production, are translated into French.
Prizes and reception
The 1898 production remained one of the great moments in the history of Russian theatre; the play has been adapted for cinema, television and ballet.