Chekhov’s famous Russian riff receives an update for Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival.
Ever eager for the fray, Melbourne’s own Black Apple Theatre throw themselves into MIDSUMMA festival this February with an incendiary new production of The Seagull, and a howl of protest at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s anti-gay laws.
More peace march than picket line, some cheeky cross-casting from the production’s makers has given Chekhov’s famous Russian riff on forbidden love some fresh clout in the argument for equality.
In a rebellious mash-up of theatre, animation and live music, Director Cheyney Caddy, Animator Christie Widiarto and Composer Jess Keefe are kicking their way into the canon by transplanting the hallowed Russian classic into the suburban badlands of Putin’s Russia – where, in defiance of their parents and the State, three teenage girls play a dangerous game.
The re-imagined Seagull is “a celebration of the creative freedom we enjoy in Australia,” says Caddy, who also claims the work as an act of protest: “Russia’s LGBTI community has been silenced by Putin’s laws and, as artists, that’s something we should be making noise about.”
Bloody, irreverent, explosive: Black Apple’s Seagull is a very queer bird indeed.
Presented by Black Apple Theatre
When: 2-7 February 2016
Tuesday 2nd February – Friday 5th February at 8 PM
Saturday 6th February at 2 PM and 8 PM
Sunday 7th February at 6 PM
Where: Northcote Town Hall (189 High Street Northcote)
Cost: $25.00
