About the Play:

The Seagull has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female Monologues, Male Monologues, and Female/Male Scenes.

The Seagull is a classic play by Anton Chekhov. A tale about the battle for power between a mother and her son that ends in tragedy in David French's brilliant adaptation (in collaboration with Russian scholar Donna Orwin). It is widely recognized as one of the finest English versions of Chekhov's classic play.

The Seagull is at one and the same time a revitalization of a Russian theatre classic, and David French's personal tribute to one of the greatest Playwrights of all time. Famous actress Irina Arkadina is obsessed with a callous lover, dismissive of her frustrated son and suspicious of an admiring young woman. Anton Chekhov's 1895 play explores the tensions between mothers, sons, lovers, friends and servants.

Constantin Stanislavski's production of The Seagull at the newly founded Moscow Art Theatre in 1898 is one of the most famous in the world of theatre. David French's adaptation of The Seagull premiered in 1977 at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. Other productions of The Seagull include a sold-out run at the Shaw Festival, and the hugely successful 1992 Broadway production. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and is regularly performed in regional repertory, high school, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 7 female, 6 male

About the Playwright:

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860-1904) was a Russian physician, dramaturge and author of hundreds of short stories and several plays. He is regarded by many as both the greatest Russian storyteller and the father of modern drama. From Chekhov, many contemporary playwrights have learnt how to use mood, apparent trivialities and inaction to highlight the internal psychology of characters. His plays, including The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard, are performed in theatres throughout the world and he is second only to Shakespeare in the number of productions his plays receive.

David French (1939-2010) was one of Canada's most popular and critically-acclaimed playwrights. He is best remembered for the Mercer family plays, such as Leaving Home, which chronicle the lives of a Newfoundland family with humour and pathos. The Mercer plays have received hundreds of productions across North America, including a Broadway production of Of the Fields, Lately. This quintet of plays has also touched audiences in Europe, South America and Australia. His backstage comedy Jitters has been performed all over the continent, and most of his plays have had successful international runs, including two Broadway productions. In 1989, David French was inducted into the Newfoundland Arts Hall of Honour, and in 2001 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.