Details

Written in 1896 this is a comic play of aspiration and failure. On a summer's day in a makeshift theatre by a lake, a bold new play is to be performed. It is the work of a young, would-be playwright, Konstantin, who is searching for a new, more authentic dramatic form. The play stars his beautiful muse and neighbour, Nina. The assembled family audience includes his actress mother, Arkadina, who has just arrived from Moscow with the famous novelist, Trigorin. What happens during, and in the days immediately after, this play's first performance will change not just the course of the summer, but the lives of everyone involved, for ever after. This masterly meditation on love and art is both comic and tragic, and marks the birth of the modern stage.

Cast/Performers

Juliet Stevenson (Arkadina), Ben Whishaw (Konstantin - Trepliev), Mark Bazeley (Trigorin), Michael Gould (Shamraev), Sean Jackson (Yakev), Liz Kettle (Polina), Sandy McDade (Masha), Hattie Morahan (Nina), Justin Salinger (Medvedienko), Angus Wright (Dorn), Gawn Grainger (Sorin), James Bolt (Servant), Beth Fitzgerald (Servant), Jonah Russell (Servant), Dione Inman, Michael Sheldon

Creatives/Company

Author: Anton Chekhov
Producer: National Theatre
Adapted by: Martin Crimp
Director: Katie Mitchell
Design: Vicki Mortimer
Costume: Nicky Gillibrand
Lighting: Chris Davey
Choreographer: Struan Leslie
Music: Simon Allen
Sound: Christopher Shutt