Anton Chekhov’s classic play The Seagull is brought to modern life in a new version, adapted by Simon Stephens and directed by Sean Holmes. It’s running at London’s Lyric Hammersmith until 4 November 2017. Here’s what critics have been saying about it so far….
The Guardian: ★★★★ “The indefatigable Simon Stephens – definitely the same as Heisenberg’s author – has written an incisive 21st-century version of Chekhov. Sean Holmes, artistic director of the Lyric, has given it a vivid production.”
The Telegraph: ★★ “We don’t feel the (Russian) past brought alive – nor, despite the laudable diversity of casting, do we much feel the present on our pulse either.”
London Theatre.co.uk: ★★★★★ “The Seagull soars high at the Lyric Hammersmith, with Simon Stephens’ haunting adaptation breathing new life into Anton Chekhov’s text.”
Time Out: ★★★★ ” this is a ‘Seagull’ that really spreads its wings, gaining power and stature until it’s almost overwhelming. It feels explicitly interpretated as a play about art and obsession, but that doesn’t make it cerebral and bookish, but mountingly nerve-wracking and intense.”
British Theatre.com: ★★★★★ “A rare production that has both style and substance, Stephens and Chekhov have made a winning match.”
Broadway World: ★★★★ “Chekhov’s gorgeous masterpiece is given a dynamic reinvention by the Olivier Award-winning Simon Stephens at Lyric Hammersmith.”
Evening Standard: ★★★ “A potentially ‘dusty’ classic has thus been refreshed and rebooted for a younger generation and there’s absolutely no harm in that, even if the play has lost something of its ineffable majesty en route. But maybe that’s the point.”
The Upcoming: ★★★ “Despite some uneven acting, The Seagull manages to strike the balance between humour, warmth and poignancy.”
British Theatre Guide: “An over-familiar play has been re-energised, thankfully not traduced, the attention to detail is comically tuned, and the big set soliloquies ably done.”
Essential Surrey: ★★★ “This Lyric production is worth catching, but one comes away with the sense that it could have been so much better.”
Mature Times: “Sean Holmes, artistic director of the Lyric, Hammersmith, is using a new version by Simon Stephens which sets The Seagull firmly in the 20th century and in so doing takes the Chekhov out of Chekhov as it were.”
