Seagull: True Story Tickets From £54
Venue
MART and Wild Yak present Seagull: True Story at the Marylebone Theatre following a hugely successful sold out Off-Broadway run at La Mama this Spring. This wildly inventive, darkly comic and politically charged remix of Chekhov’s classic blends autobiographical drama, Chekhovian themes and biting satire.
When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine casts a shadow of censorship over Kon’s free-spirited reimagining of Chekhov’s The Seagull, the production is stripped down to a state-approved shell of its former self.
Desperate to save his vision and his livelihood, Kon flees to New York.
Torn between his Russian roots and a confounding American paradise, he tries to redefine himself as an artist, only to discover that regaining true freedom takes more than just a few thousand miles…
Seagull: True Story is inspired by recent events in Molochnikov’s own life. An award-winning director in Russia, Molochnikov left Russia in 2022 after speaking out against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He cannot return home.
This bold and playful theatrical experience is packed full of song, multimedia, absurdist humour and layered metatheatre to explore the fragility of art, identity and freedom under authoritarian regimes. Molochnikov leads a stellar cast in a story of love, betrayal and the struggle to make meaningful art in a world where the truth depends on who’s in charge.
This is a provocative and poignant show about survival that offers a deeply personal exploration of displacement, dissent and the power of live performance in the face of oppression.
What ultimately emerges in Seagull: True Story is not just a tale of exile and reinvention, but a portrait of a director undeterred by the collapse of his artistic infrastructure…