The production will be heading to the Barbican from February 2025 for a limited six week season.
It has been announced that Cate Blanchett and Tom Burke will return to the London stage in Duncan Macmillan and Thomas Ostermeier’s new version of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull.
This production will mark a return to the Barbican stage for Cate Blanchett following her performance in Botho Strauss’ Big and Small (Gross und Klein), in 2012, adapted by Martin Crimp and directed by Benedict Andrews for Sydney Theatre Company (STC), where Blanchett was co-Artistic Director alongside Andrew Upton. Among her credits include roles in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Aviator.
Tom Burke’s theatre credits include starring in Rosmersholm (Duke of York’s Theatre), Don Carlos (UK tour), The Deep Blue Sea, The Doctor’s Dilemma (National Theatre), Reasons to be Happy (Hampstead Theatre). He is also known for his roles in the BBC dramas The Musketeers and Strike.
Full casting and creative team have yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, the news of the production will also reunite Blanchett and Burke who have recently completed filming on Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag.
Talking about the production, Thomas Ostermeier said today, “I have known and admired Cate for many years, and to see her on stage is always a privilege. I am thrilled that we will make our first artistic collaboration with this production of The Seagull at the Barbican, and that London will experience this once in a generation actress in one of the greatest theatrical roles of Arkadina. I’m also very pleased to be forging a new artistic relationship with Tom Burke, who will play the role of Trigorin.”
Blanchett stars as Arkadina, a celebrated actress whose larger-than-life presence dominates both the stage and her personal relationships. Arriving at her family’s country estate for the weekend, she finds herself caught up in a storm of conflicting desires. Her playwright son, Konstantin, struggles to step out of her shadow as he pursues his own artistic ambitions and her lover Trigorin, played by Tom Burke, becomes the object of affection for the aspiring young actress Nina.
Tickets for the production will start at £20, with 100 tickets at every performance available at that price. Tickets will go on sale from 10am on 7 October for Barbican Patrons, 4pm on 7 October for Barbican Members Plus, 10am on 8 October for standard Barbican Members and 12pm on 8 October for Wessex Grove’s (one of the co-producers) priority list. General on-sale will be on 9 October at 10am.
To sign up to find out more information visit: https://theseagullplay.co.uk/