Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull is a classic about love, art, and the hunger to be remembered. But in 2012, playwright Anya Reiss reimagined it for today.
Reiss’s version keeps the heart of Chekhov’s story—the tangled web of love triangles, unfulfilled dreams, and the clash between old and new generations—but places it in a modern setting. Here, the characters text, drink, and argue in language that sounds like us.
At the center is Konstantin, a young writer desperate to change theatre. His mother, Arkadina, is a famous actress, threatened by the new. Nina dreams of stardom, but fame comes at a cost. And Trigorin, the successful writer, drifts through it all, leaving heartbreak behind.
Reiss’s adaptation strips away the distance of the 19th century. The characters feel raw, immediate, painfully familiar. It shows us that Chekhov’s questions about art, love, and failure haven’t gone away—they’ve only grown sharper in the 21st century.