Preview: Seagull: True Story at Marylebone Theatre London

This inventive, darkly comic and politically charged remix of Chekhov’s classic blends autobiographical drama, Chekhovian themes and biting satire.

Seagull A True Story, credit – Frederick Charles

When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine casts a shadow of censorship over Kon’s free-spirited reimagining of Chekhov’s The Seagull, the production is stripped down to a state-approved shell of its former self. Desperate to save his vision and his livelihood, Kon flees to New York. Torn between his Russian roots and a confounding American paradise, he tries to redefine himself as an artist, only to discover that regaining true freedom takes more than just a few thousand miles.

Seagull: True Story is inspired by recent events in Molochnikov’s own life. An award-winning director in Russia, Molochnikov left Russia in 2022 after speaking out against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He cannot return home. Of the experience, Molochnikov says, “I never thought I’d have the courage to stage a play about myself, but the war has changed life so drastically that in the past three years, I’ve been living and reliving a full-fledged drama. It is the most important thing I’ve ever had to do, a story of a world of creativity bursting before my eyes, of the impossibility of freely creating art and the necessity to fight for its freedom in both Russia and the US”.

Seagull A True Story, credit – Frederick Charles

This bold and playful theatrical experience is packed full of ‘comedic mayhem that makes the audience roar’ (Stage and Cinema), using song, multimedia, absurdist humour and layered metatheatre to explore the fragility of art, identity and freedom under authoritarian regimes.

Molochnikov leads a cast in a story of love, betrayal and the struggle to make meaningful art in a world where the truth depends on who’s in charge.

Creator & Director: Alexander Molochnikov
Writer: Eli Rarey
Set Designer: Alexander Shishkin
Costume Designer: Kristina Kharlashkina
Lightning Designers: Brian H. Scott and Sam Saliba
Composer: Fedor Zhuravlev
Lyrics: Noize MC
Choreographer: Ohad Mazor

PRODUCERS: MART and Wild Yak present Seagull: True Story at the Marylebone Theatre following a sold out Off-Broadway run at La Mama this Spring.

MART Foundation is an American nonprofit organisation with a special focus on co-productions, and under the vision of founder Sofia Kapkov, MART co-produced the New York premiere of Our Class at the Brooklyn Academy of Music—named one of the best productions of 2024 by The Wall Street Journal and recently honoured with four Lucille Lortel Awards.

Wild Yak is an award-winning London based independent production and general management company led by Producer Oliver King specialising in new writing with a political, social or historical edge and international work. Productions include the critically acclaimed What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank (Marylebone Theatre), the UK return of Slava’s SnowShow (Harold Pinter & UK Tour), Dr Strangelove (Noel Coward), The White Factory (Marylebone), Restless Natives the Musical (Scottish Tour).