Chekhov masterpiece to be staged at St James

Teatru Ad Hoc will bring Anton Chekhov's masterpiece to life with a Maltese version of his Chaika, The Seagull, over two weekends at St James Cavalier, in Valletta.

The Seagull, one of the classics of world theatre, may be described as a dramatic comedy, or likewise as a comic drama.

Chekhov has the master formula for mixing the banal with the lyrical, the comic with the serious and the lively with the calm, thus creating a pattern of different rhythms, which thread throughout the play.

In the play, we meet an eclectic group of people who gather in the garden of a wealthy Russian landowner, as they do every summer. Among this mix are two actresses, two writers, one doctor and a teacher plus a young girl who wears black all the time, " because she is in mourning for her life".

The play will be presented in Maltese, in a translation by Immanuel Mifsud, who is also directing the play. Taking part are Monica Attard, Stephanie Farrugia, Ninette Micallef, Kristjana Casha, Manuel Cauchi, Jes Camilleri, Stefan Cachia Zammit, Joe Cortis, Victor Debono and Mike Tabone. The performances will take place over two weekends starting on Friday at 8 p.m.

The production will commemorate the 100th anniversary since the Russian author's death in 1904.

In between these two weekends, on Tuesday, Mario Tabone will be delivering a public lecture entitled Chekhov's Longest Journey at the St James Cavalier music room, at 7 p.m.

The last time that The Seagull was staged in Malta was in the 1970s, when Ethel Farrugia directed the play for Atturi Theatre Group, a production which included Karmen Azzopardi, Paul Xuereb and Antoinette Soler.