Seagull: True Story
24 September 2025
Marylebone Theatre
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
Seagull: True Story, currently running at the Marylebone Theatre until 12 October, might just be the most urgent production running in London at the moment. Inspired by true events, it’s an examination of free speech in the arts and the devastating effects of current events.
When rehearsals for Kon’s free-spirited production of Chekov’s The Seagull are interrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, state censorship forces it back into a more traditional setting before it can open at the Arts Theatre in Moscow. Frustrated and defiant, the director flees from Russia to New York, seeking to bring his original vision to life in the land of the free. But it takes more than an idealistic idea and a defiance towards totalitarian regimes to find true freedom of expression.
Alexander Molochnikov directs this stunning masterpiece based on his own lived experience. The play was written by Eli Rarey, trying to capture Molochnikov’s wild ideas and personal accounts. Utilising a classic play by one of Russia’s most revered playwrights to illustrate contemporary societal and political issues in Russia and beyond is a stroke of genius, giving this play a stunning framing device that serves to connect current events with history effortlessly.
There is an air of defiant urgency about the first act, following a troupe of actors and creatives in Russia trying to toe the fine line between maintaining artistic expression and avoiding state-sanctioned violence. While the second act really ramps up the action, going from subversive to outright revolutionary. Connecting the contemporary political landscape with historical events, Seagull: True Story speaks loudly on state-censorship and the rise in fascism, the dangers of letting fear muzzle an artistic vision, the utter desperation and panic that comes with making a stand that means losing ones connection to home and family. At the same time, the same scenes manage to be incredibly funny, striking a mind-blowing balance between devastating and elating.
There is a point in the play where it dawns clearly and searingly that none of the cast or creatives involved in this production can safely return to Russia during Putin’s lifetime, that they are putting so much more on the line than just their careers. Giving rise to the feeling of witnessing history being made in our lifetime. This play feels like examinative documentarian plays of the lead-up to WWII, which always yield questions of “how could this happen?” and “why did no one do something to stop this?”, but instead of a distant-seeming past, it is happening right now. It is happening in front of our eyes. What are willing to risk to do something to stop it?
Seagull: True Story is a tremendously urgent play that has so much to say, and absolutely needs to be heard loud and clear. An examination of the endurance of the human spirit and the drive to create art, even while the world is burning.
