The Seagull by Anton Chekhov

Company Burgtheater, Vienna
Venue King’s Theatre
Address 2 Leven Street
Reviewer Ksenija Horvat

This year, Burgtheater, Vienna, introduced themselves to Edinburgh’s audience with two plays, Alte Meister and The Seagull.

The accomplished actors of this prominent Viennese theatre company succeeded in bringing to life Chekhov’s intensely poetic and tragicomic text, in good modern German translation by Ilma Rakusa. Amidst the beautifully laid out set with a lakeside painted in the background, designed by Gilles Aillaud, the tragic story of Konstantin’s ill-fated love for an aspiring young actress Nina unveils before us like a delicate Russian lace.

Burgtheater’s actors are renowned for their expressive yet controlled acting style, and they have confirmed their reputation on this occasion. Jutta Lampe is frighteningly sensual in her role as the conniving middle-aged actress Arkadina, and Gert Voss is full of contradictions as charming but feeble Trigorin. The production also features yet another first-rate performance by Urs Hefti as Shamrayev. The young cast match their experienced co-actors. Though Johanna Wokalek may seem a bit bland at first as delicate young Nina, in the fourth act she shows true pathos as a disillusioned struggling actress. August Diehl is excellent as young defiant Kostantin, and Philipp Brammer's Medvedenko is so wonderfully sensitive and clumsy that he is truly endearing. However, the real discovery is an outstanding performance by Maria Hengge whose Masha displays the whole range of emotions of a torturous Russian soul, and whose dance scene in the fourth act is honed to perfection. The rest of the cast should be commended as well for their notable individual miniatures, turning this piece into a good example of excellent ensemble work.

Saying all this, the production falls short occasionally due to one major flaw - its length. At three hours and twenty-five minutes (including interval) The Seagull can become an excruciating experience and a number of delightfully performed scenes is lost in the sea of dialogue. However refined Chekhov's work, it needs rigorous editing to accord with the modern theatre's standards. By leaving Chekhov's text uncut, director Luc Bondy and co-director Geoffrey Layton have displayed indulgence that does no favours either to the performers or to their audience.

© Ksenija Horvat 30 August 2001