The Seagull
★★★★☆ Impressive
Lyceum: Thurs 9 Oct – Sat 1 Nov 2025
Review by Hugh Simpson
The Seagull, at the Lyceum until 1 November, is the first production under the new regime of James Brining, and is an undoubted success.
Chekhov apparently regarded his 1896 depiction of vain ambition, dashed hopes and wasted lives played out on a country estate as a comedy. Translations into English have tended to play up the tragedy.
This version, by Mike Poulton, certainly foregrounds the comic elements, and has resisted the temptation to update the period or change the setting. The language, however, is resolutely contemporary, includes some subtle Scotticisms, and works extremely well in terms of emotional impact.
Caroline Quentin (centre) with Dyfan Dwyfor, Lorn Macdonald, Forbes Masson, Kristian Lustre, John Bett and Irene Allen. Pic: Mihaela Bodlovic.
Incoming Lyceum artistic director Brining, meanwhile, directs with a very sure hand, marshalling a large ensemble by modern standards with real skill. There is a realism and flow to the exchanges that gives rhythm and impetus to what could otherwise be a long evening.
Anyone who has seen a Lothian bus lately will know that this production’s big draw is Caroline Quentin, and she certainly does not disappoint. Her Irina, a self-centred stage performer, is constantly seeking approval from those around her (while signally failing to give any in return).
Since Quentin’s character so dominates those around her, it would be forgivable for the actor to do the same. However, it is noteworthy that – commanding as her performance is – it is also a very generous and ensemble-focused one. Those moments where she milks the attention, with one eye on the reaction she provokes, are very successful at depicting the character’s inner doubts and unhappiness.
deeply troubled
Of course, her behaviour just tends to make those around her even more unhappy, particularly her son: the would-be avant-garde playwright Konstantin. Lorn Macdonald is very good at conveying the character’s deeply troubled nature, even when his adoption of new clothes and the slicking-back of his previously curtained fringe suggest a new prosperity.
Part of his sorrow stems from his love for Nina (Harmony Rose-Bremner), an aspiring performer whose affections have switched to Irina’s younger lover, the writer Trigorin (Dyfan Dwyfor). Konstantin, meanwhile, is the object of the unrequited love of Masha (Tallulah Greive), who is herself pursued by Medvedenko (Michael Dylan).
John Bett, Steven McNicoll, Kristian Lustre, Harmony Rose-Bremner, Irene Allen, Michael Dylan, Michael Dylan and Forbes Masson. Pic: Mihaela Bodlovic.
Which all sounds very much like a comedy. And so it is, but the genius of the play is that it is also so deeply sad. Nina can come across as melodramatic, but Rose-Bremner has a very firm control on the reality of the character. The final scene between Nina and Konstantin is extremely well done; there is one moment that, however much you may know it is coming, is still devastating.
Greive’s snuff-taking proto-emo is also an extremely fine combination of the comic and the tragic, while Dylan’s hangdog, lost-puppy act works very well. Dwyfor manages the tricky balancing act between Trigorin’s predatory, self-aggrandising vanity and his weakness with some delicacy.
We also have Steven McNicoll’s blustering estate manager, Irene Allen as his long-suffering wife, Forbes Masson as the sleekit doctor she pines after, and John Bett as the valetudinarian estate owner and brother of Irina, apparently consigned to the scrapheap at the ancient age of 60. Kristian Lustre plays the servant Yakov.
All of these characters once again beautifully combine the funny and the desperate, in an ensemble that is nigh-on perfect – not least in the way that it mixes a visiting star name, familiar Lyceum figures and performers who started out in Edinburgh youth companies and have returned after conspicuous success elsewhere.
imposing
The imposing sets (by Colin Richmond, co-designed by Anna Kelsey) evoke both the rush-strewn lakeside and the grand country house interior successfully and are wonderful on their own terms, but mirror the production’s only real drawback that stops it from being a five-star affair. Like so many relatively straight productions of ‘classics’, it is just a shade too reverent and conscious of its own grandness.
The faded nature of the huge room has become something of a Chekhov cliché, and the contrast between the modern language and the artfully presented setting give the production the merest suggestion of a period piece that is otherwise absent. For example, the music and sound design of Michael John McCarthy are judged to perfection; the use of singing is all the more effective for being so sparingly deployed. The costumes (by Madeleine Boyd and associate Kelsey) are also pitched just right.
Any small quibbles are swept away in the end by the overall quality of a production that is impressive on every level.
Running time: Two hours 45 minutes including one interval
Lyceum Theatre, Grindlay Street EH3 9AX. Phone booking: 0131 248 4848.
Tue 14 Oct – Sat 1 Nov 2025
Tue – Sat: 7.30pm. Mats Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Chichester Festival Theatre, Oaklands Park, Chichester, PO19 6AP
Tue 11 – Sat 15 Nov 2025
Evenings: 7.30pm; Mats Wed, Thur, Sat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
ENDS
