The English Literature Play

About the play

Chekhov’s unparalleled exploration of art, ambition and generational tensions. The Seagull straddles both heartbreak and humour as the foreground to navigating human creativity and connection.

As old actress Arkadina, her author lover Trigorin, and playwright son Konstantin visit a family estate, words become weapons and thoughts become currency. Konstantin is haunted by his endeavours to radicalise the ways that stories are told in the theatre, and finds himself spiralling after his love, the young actress Nina, runs away with Trigorin.

Chekhov’s heartbreaking, funny and ever-relevant drama epitomises the consequences of ego, ambition and creative idealism into an ornate case-study on the nature of human relationships.

About the production

by the production team

The sensitivity and intimacy of Chekhov’s play is born in the way that language is used to nurture relationships between characters. Our production intensifies these tender dynamics within all elements of our design, focusing on the function of language in theatre-making.

Musical storytelling is a central part of this practice. The correlative themes between contemporary folk-rock and historical Scottish folk songs – water, flying, heartbreak and freedom (or lack thereof) – are all very powerful in ‘The Seagull’. Therefore, the musical elements of our production burst with the same approach to lyrical wordpainting that Chekhov writes his plays with.

These musical injections are dimensional in our dream-like approach to the production; whilst written with the setting of 19th-century Russia in mind, we are exploring a setting that is both place and time nondescript, more evocative of a seamless corner of time that is simultaneously alien in aesthetics but familiar in its humaneness.

Our production is also collaborating with Conscious Edinburgh, which is a registered mental health charity run by students, for students. It is a non-profit established to provide both support and education to students about mental health. We feel for a play of this nature, which deals with such heavy topics regarding mental health, this collaboration is necessary and beneficial in spreading awareness and sensitivity about topics regarding mental health.

In our collaboration with them, we are implementing a couple of different welfare initiatives, and will be raising money for Conscious through QR codes at each of our performances. By partnering with Conscious, we hope to spread their charity’s mission as well as treat the sensitive nature of this production with the utmost care.

Supported by the University of Edinburgh Department of English and Scottish Literature.

About the English Literature Play Award

Each year the department of English Literature makes an award of up to £1000 to a literature student staging a live performance of a play text related to the English Literature degree programmes.

Previous productions include:

• Jellyfish by William Osbon at Bedlam Theatre, 2025
• Mother Clap's Molly House by Mark Ravenhill, 2024
• Translations by Brian Friel at Bedlam Theatre, 2023
• Boys by Ella Hickson at Assembly Roxy, 2022
• Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker at Bedlam Theatre, 2018
• Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton at The Caves, 2011

If you're a student interested in applying for funding next year, keep an eye out for applications opening in autumn 2025.

Are you interested in studying with us?

We teach over 30 single and joint MA undergraduate honours programmes in English and Scottish Literature and a full range of taught and research-led postgraduate programmes, from one-year masters degrees to PhDs in English Literature and Creative Writing.

Find out more about English Literature at Edinburgh