Written in 1895 by Anton Chekhov, and now reignited for the 21st century in an adaptation by Anya Reiss, the Chesil Theatre's July production of 'The Seagull' marks the play's 120th anniversary. It is a beautifully crafted drama exploring themes of unrequited love, art, ambition and the comic tragedies that are borne out of this struggle.

Having read five translations of the original production, Director Deborah Edgington chose this modern version “It really struck a chord with me. Reiss manages to retain the spirit of Chekhov’s original play whilst ensuring it is contemporary and gutsy, creating appeal for purists and modernists alike.”
When it premiered at Southwark Playhouse in 2012, it was described in The Telegraph as ‘fresh, colloquial, sexy and downright perceptive...’. The Chesil Theatre has stepped up to this challenge with both familiar and brand new faces in its ten-strong cast.

Edgington, who has recently returned from co-directing Athol Fugard’s My Children! My Africa! at the Tristan Bates Theatre, London, and Torben Betts’ Muswell Hill at the Park Theatre, London, is delighted to be back at the Chesil Theatre following her directorial debut with A Streetcar Named Desire in 2013.

She added, “This has been an ambitious production and we have been daring in our approach to staging, lighting and music in what has been a very short rehearsal period. Our talented actors have also been working hard on movement as well as the intensity of the dialogue. I am excited to be bringing Chekhov’s comic masterpiece to the familiar intimacy of the Chesil Theatre.”

The Seagull is one of Chekhov's four major plays; the others being The Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya and The Cherry Orchard. 

Performances of The Seagull run from 11 to 18 July at 7.45pm plus 2.30pm matinee on 18 July. Tickets available online chesiltheatre.org.uk or tel. 0333 666 3366.

For behind-the-scenes news and gossip follow The Seagull on twitter @SeagullChesilTC

The Chesil Theatre is seeking a talented cast of four actors for its September production of Willy Russell’s ‘One For The Road’. Willy Russell is an acclaimed playwright, best known for Educating Rita, Shirley Valentine, Our Day Out and Blood Brothers. 

READING: Friday 12th June 2015 at 7.45pm
AUDITIONS: Saturday 13th June at 10am and Sunday 14th June at 7.45pm
PERFORMANCES: 19th to 26th September 2015

The play is a witty, observant comedy set in a fictional Northern housing estate in the early 1980s. It is a story of class mobility, squandered dreams and mid-life crisis. 

It was first published in 1980 and later revised and updated by Russell in 1985. The Chesil production will be a combination of the two versions, predominantly the revised text but integrating some material from the original text.

There are four roles, of roughly equal size, requiring playing ages of early to mid-thirties:

• Dennis – a dissatisfied, rebellious man hitting his mid-thirties and not liking what he has become.
  
• Pauline – his wife, who strives to be socially accepted and struggles to understand Dennis’ behaviour.
  
• Jane – a formidable woman who runs the social milieu of the housing estate.
  
• Roger – Jane’s husband, outwardly jovial. Occasionally his middle-class pretentions slip.
  

Jim Glaister has directed short plays for the Chesil stage in the past, as well as several low budget short films, but this will be his first full-length production as Director for the Chesil Theatre. Being of Northern stock and having vivid memories of formative years in the early 80s, the play’s blend of social comment, farce, Northern attitudes and occasional coarse humour proved impossible to resist. It’s going to be a blast – come along and join the fun!

Newcomers always welcome. Just turn up via the stage door.