The Seagull

Lighthouse Productions are bringing The Seagull to the Oxford Playhouse from Wednesday 21 October, running through to Saturday 24 October. It's a production by a company of full-time University of Oxford students, and they're billing it as their most ambitious project to date. It's staged to mark the 130th anniversary of the play, which is Anton Chekhov's darkly comic masterpiece.

Director Alys Young set out to challenge the cultural assumption that Chekhov is boring or pretentious, leaning into his spirit as a comedy writer and a subversive of convention rather than the hyper-naturalistic, humour-draining version that Stanislavski later imposed. The production is set in the present day, and the cast found Simon Stephens' new English translation more immediate and easier to speak than older versions. Nina is played as an eighteen-year-old rather than a traditional damsel in distress. A dance ensemble with bird-like choreography and an original score by Lucian Ng make the staging a theatrical spectacle, and the play's subtext is staged explicitly for the first time. It's worth knowing that the show contains strong language and discussions of suicide, loss of a child and death.

The cast includes Danya Griver as Nina, Ezana Betru as Konstantin, Rowan Brown as Irina, Samuel Gosmore as Boris, Rufus Shutter as Hugo, Alexander Lloyd-Elliot as Peter, Georgina Cotes as Marcia, Ediz Atilla Ozer as Leo, Sanaa Pasha as Pauline, Cohen Rowland as Simeon and Esme Somerside Gregory as Jacob. Set and props are by Kit Callum Rush, with the original score by Lucian Ng.

Performances run Wednesday 21, Thursday 22 and Friday 23 October at 7:30pm, with a double bill on Saturday 24 October at 2:00pm and 7:30pm. Tickets are £15, with a special £5 scheme for those aged 14-25. You'll find the Playhouse at 11-12 Beaumont St, Oxford.