The Seagull

The Seagull, originally written by Anton Chekhov, and adapted by Anya Reiss, was the week five weekend show in the University of York Drama Society's Autumn 2024 season. I was brought in to play the character of Boris Trigorin, a famous, yet self-tortured writer.

Trigorin has an incredibly awkward persona - which is arguably the most challenging yet fun aspect about the character. While famous for his writing, he struggles greatly to accept the fact that anybody thinks his work is any good. This constant feeling of inadequacy and longing for an opportunity to live a life free of his work is what drives his every action throughout the play, both on-stage through the dialogue, and offstage through The Seagull's seven-year time jump; in which he starts a relationship with someone his own age, has a child, and then, when the child passes, runs back to the older actress to which he was initially attached. Whilst his actions are contemptible, it was very important that he not be portrayed as sleazy, or even remotely aware of the harm he truly causes, making understanding his point-of-view the most important aspect of the role.

As Trigorin was a character I had wanted to play for a long while, it was incredibly exciting to be given the opportunity to do so. The team behind the production were all immensely talented, and I had a lot of fun helping to bring the show to life!