THE SEAGULL

About the show

Some defend their art in order to survive; others seek new forms just to be able to live at all. Yet no one truly arrives—constantly thwarted by the expectations of others. The young actress Nina and the ambitious playwright Kostja—living precarious yet fiercely committed lives—dream of love. Meanwhile, Kostja’s mother, Arkadina, scorns her son’s art while losing herself in longing for the successful writer Trigorin. Their lives intertwine, bound together by painful conflicts. Life is lived only in self-contradiction. Looming over it all are the fear of losing one’s significance and the paralyzing power of a system that prefers administration to renewal. People ask: Where is the grand vision? In doing so, they appear startlingly modern. Have we already lost faith in the future? For many years, Swiss director Barbara Frey has been staging productions at renowned venues across the German-speaking world, leaving a lasting mark on contemporary theatre. The highly acclaimed work of the former artistic director of the Schauspielhaus Zürich (2009–2019) and the Ruhrtriennale (2021–2023) is characterized by formal clarity and a profound sensitivity to language. Barbara Frey presents a major classic and a major ensemble piece—exploring the question of how to remain human even in the face of failure. Neither comedy nor tragedy. An interlude.