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Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Ambition in Topanga paradise: Anton Chekhov and John Galsworthy at Theatricum Botanicum
'The Seagull: Malibu' and the seldom-revived 'Strife,' two ambitious offerings in Theatricum Botanicum's outdoor season, are reset in the American past. Ellen Geer, the director, calls her version of Anton Chekhov's play, 'a retelling.' She relocates 'The Seagull,' as a program note specifies and her production flamboyantly conveys, 'to the self-centered Me Generation of the '70s that followed the social upheaval of the '60s.' Malibu, a California world unto its own, hemmed in by the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Santa Monica Mountains on the other, sets up a groovy, glamorous equivalent to the backwater country setting of Chekhov's original, in which all of the characters seem to be suffering from terminal ennui. 'Strife,' John Galsworthy's 1909 social drama about the human cost of a deadlock between management and labor, is transferred from the England-Wales border to Pennsylvania of the 1890s. The play, directed by Ellen Geer and Willow Geer, isn't adapted in the freehanded way of 'The Seagull: Malibu,' and the change of locale doesn't always seem natural. The production's opening scene is slightly disorienting. The directors, called to an emergency meeting at the home of the chairman of the board of the American Steel Corp., have the haughty mien of British aristocrats. Later, at the freezing cold abode of one of the leaders of the strike, the impoverished scene takes on unmistakable Dickensian notes. There are a fair number of Irish accents in the mix, but I wouldn't have been surprised if one of the actors broke out his best cockney. 'The Seagull: Malibu' isn't always consistent in setting up the time period, but the production's larkish approach is infectious. Arkadina (Susan Angelo) plays the self-absorbed actress mother who sold out to Hollywood. Defensive about her age, she's even more prickly about the condescending attitude of her would-be avant-garde playwright son, Constantine (Christopher Glenn Gilstrap), who basically thinks she's a B-movie hack. Gilstrap's Constantine looks more like a future yacht rock frontman than a theatrical renegade. Angelo's Arkadina seems destined to have her career resurrected in the next decade by a recurring role on either 'Dallas' or 'Dynasty.' The charged Oedipal dynamics between them are vividly fleshed out. Willow Geer plays Masha, the Chekhov character who insouciantly declares that she's in mourning for her life. Her Masha is a pothead and sloppy self-dramatizing drunk, hopelessly in love with Constantine, who only has eyes for Nina (Caroline Quigley). Masha confides her discontent to Dr. Dore (Daniel Reichert), a Gestalt therapist who, like Chekhov's more traditional Dr. Dorn, has an empirical worldview that stands in stark contrast to the romantic dreaminess of everyone else at the estate. Thad (Tim Halligan), Arkadina's rechristened brother, suffers from fragile health and a sketchy backstory. Halligan, however, gives the character definition, especially when advocating for his nephew and risking the wrath of his volatile, penny-pinching sister. Trigger (Rajiv Shah) is the new version of Trigorin, the established writer who, as Arkadina's younger lover, resists becoming her property even as he enjoys the perks of their celebrity relationship. The boldly amusing and good-natured production makes the most of the fading California hippie era. The final act, unfortunately, is dreadfully acted. Quigley's Nina is a delight in the play's early going, all innocence and starry-eyed enthusiasm. But there appears to be no artistic growth when she returns to encounter a still-lovesick Constantine. Quigley's acting is as melodramatic and artificial as Nina's was said to be before her travails and losses transformed her talent. This isn't the production's only failure of subtlety, but it's surely the most consequential. Still, if you can cope with a deflating finale, there's much to enjoy in this update of 'The Seagull,' not least the glorious Topanga summer night backdrop, which translates Chekhov's setting into a rustic West Coast paradise. I can't remember ever having seen a Galsworthy play, so I was grateful for Theatrium Botanicum's vision in producing 'Strife.' Awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1932, Galsworthy is better known for his novels than his plays. (The 1967 BBC television adaptation of his Forsyte family chronicles brought him immense posthumous acclaim.) 'Strife' is an intelligent thesis play, not on the verbal or theatrical level of George Bernard Shaw's sparkling comedy of ideas but impressive all the same for its complexity of argument and compassionate determination to understand all sides of a problem. The play is especially resonant at this moment when workers are treated like items in a budget that can be erased without regard for human consequences. There's a rousing speech about the God of Capital, 'a white-faced, stony-hearted monster' that says, ''I'm very sorry for you, poor fellows — you have a cruel time of it, I know,' but will not give you one dollar of its dividends to help you have a better time.' These words are spoken by David Roberts (Gerald C. Rivers), a labor hard-liner and rabble-rouser, who is the ideological enemy and (mirror image of) John Anthony (Franc Ross), the chairman of American Steel who refuses to give an inch to the demands of the workers. In portraying these intractable figures in equivalent moral terms, Galsworthy reveals, if not his privileged background, then his muddled thinking on economic justice. But this large-cast drama (one of the reasons it's rarely produced today) provides a broad spectrum of human experience, adding depth and nuance to what is undeniably a vigorous debate. Enid Underwood (Emily Bridges), Mr. Anthony's married daughter, is desperate to help her ailing servant, Annie Roberts (Earnestine Phillips), whose health has been destroyed since her husband, David, has been on strike. Enid's sympathy is strong, but her class allegiance is stronger, setting up an intriguing character study that takes us into the heart of the societal dilemma Galsworthy diligently dissects. The acting is often at the level of community theater — broad, strident and overly exuberant. Galsworthy, to judge by this revival, seems to be working far outside the tradition of realism. I wish the directors had reined in some of the hoary excesses of the performers, but I felt fortunate to experience a play that might not be an indelible classic but is too incisive to be forgotten.
Scotsman
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The Scottish theatre bringing 'powerful' new plays to people's living rooms, kitchens and gardens
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... It has been an icon of the Edinburgh theatre scene for almost 150 years, with a grand city centre auditorium seating more than 650 audience members. Now, the Royal Lyceum Theatre is to downsize its audience capacity significantly - when it takes its latest plays to be performed in living rooms, kitchens and gardens across the city. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The inside of the Royal Lyceum Theatre | Peter Dibden New initiative Lyceum at Home will involve four newly-commissioned 30-minute plays by Scottish writers, which will be taken to homes of local people all over Edinburgh - as well as to community centres and workplaces. This comes as the theatre unveiled its programme for the coming season. Highlights include the already-announced world premiere of a musical of David Nicolls novel One Day, as well as a production of Anton Chekov's The Seagull, starring Jonathan Creek star Caroline Quentin. James Brining's first season as artistic director will also include Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, a Dundee Rep Theatre production in association with the soon-to-be reopened Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, and a Christmas production of Cinderella: A Fairytale, directed by Tron Theatre's artistic director, Jemima Levick. The Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh | Contributed The Lyceum at Home initiative is part of the 60th-anniversary celebrations of the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company. The theatre said the plays will reflect the lives, choices and everyday moments that make Edinburgh and would widen its reach across the Scottish capital and 'build on the bonds and relationships which connect us all'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Brining said: 'I was really keen to make a statement about our interest in the whole of the city. We're based right in the heart of Edinburgh, but we want to reach out to people and communities across the whole of Edinburgh. We're doing this project that will involve four short new plays, and we're going to take them out into people's houses.' Mr Brining said he had worked on a similar initiative when working at the Playhouse Theatre in Leeds, when actors performed to as few as five people in a residential home. The Lyceum at Home project is due to launch in mid summer. 'It's a really interesting project,' he said. 'We will actually take plays into living rooms and have people invite neighbours, friends, family, whatever, to come and see these shows. It's a brilliant, low-key thing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's a statement of our interest in being involved with the city in as wide a way as we can, without compromising the work we do in the theatre. It's a beautiful, important part of the culture.' Associate artistic director Zinnie Harris said: 'For the past 60 years, The Royal Lyceum has been at the heart of Edinburgh's cultural life, creating theatre and inspiring audiences with work that is deeply rooted in Scottish culture and community. 'Now we want to spread this work into the community, bringing powerful performances and storytelling into Edinburgh residences homes. Whether it's a living room, a garden or your office we want to give everyone in the city an opportunity to experience the works of some of Scotland's leading writers.'
Scotsman
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Caroline Quentin: Jonathan Creek star to perform in Chekov play in Edinburgh seen 'through Scottish lens'
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Caroline Quentin is to star alongside a cast of Scottish actors in a production of an iconic Russian play told 'through a Scottish lens'. The Men Behaving Badly and Jonathan Creek star is to perform in Anton Chekov's The Seagull at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh next season in the first show for new artistic director James Brining. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The facade of the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh. | Eamonn McGoldrick She said she was looking forward to playing in a 'proper' theatre in Edinburgh, decades after her 'first real successes as an actor' on the Fringe. Ms Quentin said: 'This production of The Seagull is the realisation of so many dreams. I have wanted to play Arkadina since I was in a production playing Masha nearly 40 years ago. 'The city of Edinburgh gave me my first real successes as an actor, on the Fringe with An Evening with Gary Lineker, Trench Kiss and Live Bed Show, all by Arthur Smith, and this year I finally get to play in a 'proper' theatre and they don't come any more beautiful and prestigious than the Lyceum.' Mr Brining, who recently moved back to Scotland after a stint at the Leeds Playhouse, said the play, which will be performed from October 9 to November 1, had been carefully selected as his first performance. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Quentin will take takes on the pivotal role of Arkadina, a once-celebrated actress who dominates every room she enters. Her son, the tormented young playwright Konstantin, yearns to escape her shadow, revolutionise theatre and win the heart of Nina - a luminous young woman with dreams of the stage. But when Nina's gaze turns to Arkadina's lover, the celebrated writer Trigorin, egos and passions collide with truly devastating consequences. Mr Brining said The Seagull would 'still be Russian' and have 'Russian references', but 'through a Scottish lens'. He said: 'The play is an examination of theatre itself, which is why it felt like such a perfect introduction for myself as a director in this new role. It felt like a playful choice, in some respects, for my first show, to do something that actually centres, to an extent, on what we're actually doing here, making theatre.' Mr Brining added: 'One of the reasons I was really keen to come back to Scotland to work in the Lyceum was the opportunity to make that kind of work.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Caroline Quentin in The Seagull. Pic: Steph Pyne and Mihaela Bodlovic | Lyceum During his time in Leeds, Mr Brining said he had commissioned a range of 'substantial musicals and opera'. 'I've loved doing that and I want to continue to do that kind of work,' he said. 'But what keen to do over time when I'm here is to make a diverse range of work in order to appeal to a diverse audience. At the Lyceum, I've got the opportunity to do the great plays as well, and The Seagull is exactly that. It is the kind of play we should be doing. It's an option for the Edinburgh audience to reengage in that play or maybe see it for the first time.'
Daily Mail
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Emma Corrin spotted kissing actor Zachary Hart after splitting from ex-boyfriend Rami Malek
proved she's moved on from ex Rami Malek by smooching new beau Zachary Hart in London this week. Just two months after DailyMail. com revealed the A-listers had separated, the star, 29, was seen getting cozy with the actor, who Emma starred opposite earlier this year in a stage production of Anton Chekov's The Seagull. Emma, 29, wore a simple blue vest and jeans to walk Zachary's dog Spencer, and even appeared to introduce Zachary to Benedict Cumberbatch, whom the couple bumped into on their walk. Casual couple: The pair, who appeared together on stage earlier this year in a production of Anton Chekov's The Seagull, were rumoured to have struck up a relationship following the play Rumors: It is understood that since appearing in the production – which also starred Cate Blanchett – the pair have been enjoying a 'very low-key' relationship away from the public eye
Daily Mail
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Diana star Emma Corrin swaps A-list Rami for stage sidekick Zachary Hart... and who should they bump into but Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch
Sharing a tender kiss in the sunshine, these exclusive pictures prove Emma Corrin has moved on after splitting from Hollywood star Rami Malek. Just two months after The Mail on Sunday revealed the A-listers had separated, Corrin – who found fame playing Princess Diana in Netflix hit The Crown – has been spotted looking cosy with another actor, up-and-coming Zachary Hart. The pair, who appeared together on stage earlier this year in a production of Anton Chekov's The Seagull, were rumoured to have struck up a relationship following the play – and these pictures show them together for the first time as they took a romantic stroll in North London with Hart's dog, Spencer. Corrin, 29, who wore a simple blue vest and jeans for the outing, even appeared to introduce Zachary to Benedict Cumberbatch, whom the couple bumped into on their walk. Corrin looked delighted to see the Sherlock star, who was carrying a football and had his arm in a sling. He would not have needed any of his on-screen detective skills to note that the pair already looked very happy in each other's company. The pair, who appeared together on stage earlier this year in a production of Anton Chekov's The Seagull, were rumoured to have struck up a relationship following the play It is understood that since appearing in the production at London's Barbican theatre – which also starred Oscar winner Cate Blanchett – they have been enjoying a 'very low-key' relationship away from the public eye It is understood that since appearing in the production at London's Barbican theatre – which also starred Oscar winner Cate Blanchett – they have been enjoying a 'very low-key' relationship away from the public eye. The pictures taken this week certainly suggest they are keeping things casual. Rising star Hart, 35 – who had a brief role in the last series of Apple TV+ espionage drama Slow Horses – appeared to have done some shopping with Corrin, and was seen helping the star put some bags into a car boot. They then enjoyed a brief kiss before apparently heading back to the £5 million home Corrin shared with Bohemian Rhapsody star Malek. Hart is currently performing in Stereophonic, a play about a 1970s rock band on at London's Duke of York Theatre. The pair enjoyed a brief kiss before apparently heading back to the £5 million home Corrin shared with Bohemian Rhapsody star Malek Corrin, 29, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, has previously said their role in The Crown which catapulted them to superstardom both 'changed their life' while also the 'greatest warning' about fame Cumberbatch would not have needed any of his on-screen detective skills to note that the pair already looked very happy in each other's company Corrin and Malek, who won an Oscar for his role as Freddy Mercury in the Queen biopic, had been together for almost two years with Malek even working with a leading jeweller to design a 'special ring to mark his commitment to Emma' last summer, this newspaper understands. Despite a flurry of red carpet appearances, the couple were notoriously private about their relationship. In a magazine interview last May, Corrin declined to speak about Malek at all. Even less is known about Hart, or about his relationship with Corrin, who will next be seen in a new Netflix adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice.
