The resulting production of The Seagull in 1898 was a milestone in theatre that brought about a revolution of naturalism and changed how people thought about producing theatre. Stanislavski understood the need to coax Chekhov’s dramatic subtleties from the text which just wouldn’t have been possible by more accepted 19th century acting styles. He went about preparing this restaging of The Seagull with a detailed production plan which gave meticulously timed notes on when and how the play should be acted down to the last detail.
Stanislavski was the ideal man for the job. The experience almost convinced him to give up writing plays altogether but his friend Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko persuaded him that he had more to give and approached Stanislavski about producing another version of the play. Chekhov’s subtleties and dramatic subtext need to be nurtured rather than forced and it was almost as if the 19th century wasn’t ready for him. The first performance of The Seagull in 1896 was a disaster, the lead actress lost her voice and Chekhov was so distraught that he left the auditorium at half time and hid backstage. The group performed other plays in its inaugural season but it would be their production of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull that they would guarantee them a place in history. Constantin Stanislavski was a Russian actor and theatre director who, among many other achievements, co-founded the Moscow Art Theatre in 1898. To tell the whole story we need to go back to Russia and the 19th century. And its influence, along with author Anton Chekhov, over the development of theatre in the 20th century cannot be understated. We look at the influence of The Seagull from 19th century Russia right up to the present day…Ĭonstantin Stanislavski’s production of The Seagull is one of the most famous in the world of theatre. But give it another chance and you’ll find a timeless story and one of the most versatile plays ever written, as Anya Reiss’s version is testament to. It’s an easily made mistake to write off The Seagull as just another classic.
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