New production takes flight

Marking a third directorial outing for stage veteran Pu Cunxin, Beijing People's Art Theatre is preparing to premiere a youthful new version of Chekhov's classic play The Seagull, Chen Nan reports.

For Chinese audiences, The Seagull is arguably the best known of Russian writer Anton Chekhov's works. It was adapted by the Beijing People's Art Theatre in 1991 with a translation by Chinese scholar Tong Daoming. Gathering a venerable cast of veteran Chinese actors, including Pu Cunxin, Xu Fan and Yang Lixin, the play was directed by Oleg Efremov, the chief director of Moscow Art Theatre. It was so well received that it still inspires Pu.

Now, Pu, these days plying his trade as a director, is working with the young actors and actresses of Beijing People's Art Theatre to deliver a new version of The Seagull.

From May 1 to 26, the play will be staged at the Cao Yu Theater, a new venue for the company, and one that is named after its first president and well-known Chinese playwright.

Originally premiered on Oct 17, 1896, at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in Russia, The Seagull dramatizes the romantic conflicts of four main characters: Arkadina, a fading middle-aged actress; her lover, Trigorin, who is a successful writer; her son, Konstantin, a young and ambitious playwright; and Nina, an aspiring young actress with whom Konstantin is in love.