Seagull review: Cate Blanchett's mesmerizing portrayal of Irina Arkadi | Theatre | Entertainment




Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett is as distinguished on stage as she is on film. As Irina Arkadina, the over-the-hill, over-the-top actress of Chekhov’s play, she is both venomous and vulnerable, clinging to her younger lover, best-selling writer Trigorin (Tom Burke) while deriding the playwriting aspirations of her son Konstantin (Kodi Smit-McPhee).

Mean spirited and just plain mean - “I don’t have the money” she wails when asked for financial help, “It costs a fortune to be me!” - she delivers a fabulous performance in director Thomas Ostermeier’s fabulous ensemble production. Fading star Irina arrives at her country estate where Konstantin is presenting his new play, an experimental end-of-the-world borefest featuring Nina (Emma Corrin), the wannabe actress with whom he is besotted.

Other occupants include a smug womanising doctor Dorn (Paul Bazely), the mousy, lovelorn and chronically depressed Masha (Tanya Reynolds) and Irina’s ailing brother Peter (Jason Watkins).

Dominated by a thicket of tall, reed-like grass, through which characters appear and disappear, plus a scattering of folding chairs, Duncan Macmillan’s contemporary adaptation may not be conventional Chekhov but it captures the playwright’s merciless yet compassionate view of his characters.

Blanchett is mercurial as Irina, whether dancing in a desperate attempt to recapture her youthful spirit or removing her blouse and humiliating herself in an attempt to redirect Trigorin’s attention away from the starstruck Nina. 

Burke is coolly arrogant as Trigorin whose calm demeanour hides a cancerous regret for his missed youth and a reptilian vanity and that has terrible consequences.

Blasts of The Stranglers' hit Golden Brown (a song about heroin addiction) punctuate the action, providing an undercurrent of bittersweet melancholy to the often very funny ensemble performances and dialogue that interrogates the purpose of theatre itself as well as exploring the regrets, disappointments, unfulfilled dreams and misaligned romantic attractions of every character.

A dazzling, powerfully entertaining night.



Source link

Posted: 2025-03-07 03:09:12

Ukraine LIVE: Trump sides with Russia in crucial vote as he sends warning to Zelensky | World | News
 



... Read More

Full list of BAFTA Film Award 2025 nominations as Warwick Davis given huge honour | Films | Entertainment
 



... Read More

Suspected armed robber dies from injuries after shop staff stopped him escaping | UK | News
 



... Read More

England stars pull out of Carsley's squad including Saka and Grealish | Football | Sport
 



... Read More

‘Bullets can make a real mess of bones’: the hospital where the war wounded have their lives put together again | Médecins Sans Frontières
 



... Read More

UK borrowing unexpectedly jumps, piling pressure on Rachel Reeves | Government borrowing
 



... Read More

Luke Littler will not face Fallon Sherrock as Meikle causes World Championship upset | Other | Sport
 



... Read More

Poinsettias last all year with 1 key plant care step in January
 



... Read More