Royal Shakespeare Company

The Seagull

INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL
By Anton Chekov
Trevor Nunn, director

Exclusive West Coast Engagement

In the most anticipated event of the season, one of the world’s greatest living actors, Sir Ian McKellen*, leads the legendary Royal Shakespeare Company in two explosive new productions of King Lear and The Seagull (featuring McKellen in select performances). One of only three U.S. engagements, this production reunites McKellen and director Trevor Nunn, two of the towering figures of theater, with the RSC for the first time in 17 years, a fulfillment of a long-held dream for both. Nunn directed McKellen in numerous RSC productions during the ‘70’s and ‘80s, a period that’s regarded as a golden age for the company.

A profound tale about the very human tendency to reject love that is freely given and seek it where it is withheld, The Seagull was described by Chekhov himself as "a comedy in four acts." The comic nature of this play, which ultimately ends in tragedy, is revealed through the heartbreaking absurdity of its characters as they engage in fundamentally human dramas of unrequited love and unmitigated failure. Similarly to Chekhov's other major works, Uncle Vanya and The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull's main events take place off-stage, and the focus of the action is what transpires between the characters, with heartfelt feelings that once expressed, are later thwarted. Playwright Konstantin is in love with the young actress Nina, while Nina is infatuated with the writer Trigorin, the companion of Konstantin's mother, Arkadina. This utter desperation and lovesickness becomes an epidemic that reverberates within the domestic world of this remote Russian setting, symptomatically expressed through silences, cliché, verbal tics, and disastrous attempts at clarity.

This engagement marks McKellen’s first time on Royce Hall’s magnificent stage since his stunning run as Richard III in 1992. Best known to film audiences for his inspired turn as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as his memorable performances in Gods and Monsters and X-Men, McKellen’s astonishingly versatile career also spans roles on Broadway (Amadeus; Dance of Death), and in television (Tales of the City; The Simpsons).

Hailed as one of the most visionary theater directors of his generation, Nunn’s resume includes landmark productions of Shakespeare and other classical work as well as celebrated Broadway runs of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Cats, Les Misérables and Sunset Boulevard.

Click here for infomation about the Royal Shakespeare Company's King Lear.

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