The Seagull


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.4 stars; 30 reviews)

The Seagull (Russian: Чайка, Chayka) is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The play was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. It dramatises the romantic and artistic conflicts between four characters: the ingenue Nina, the fading leading lady Irina Arkadina, her son the experimental playwright Konstantin Treplyov, and the famous middlebrow story writer Trigorin. (Wikipedia)

Cast:
Irina Arkadina, an actress: Ruth Golding
Constantine Treplieff, her son: mb
Peter Sorin, her brother: Glenn Simonsen
Nina Zarietchnaya, a young girl, the daughter of a rich landowner: Jc Guan
Ilia Shamraeff, the manager of Sorin's estate: John Eddings
Paulina, his wife: TriciaG
Masha, their daughter: Philippa
Boris Trigorin, an author: Derrick George
Eugene Dorn, a doctor: Robert Steiner
Simon Medviedenko, a schoolmaster: Ernst Pattynama
Jacob, a workman: David Muncaster
A cook: Laurie Anne Walden
Stage Directions: Hannah Dowell

Audio edited by mb (2 hr 7 min)

Chapters

0 – Dramatis Personae 1:39 Read by LibriVox Volunteers
1 – Act I 37:17 Read by LibriVox Volunteers
2 – Act II 27:11 Read by LibriVox Volunteers
3 – Act III 26:37 Read by LibriVox Volunteers
4 – Act IV 34:53 Read by LibriVox Volunteers

Reviews

Good Attempt


(3 stars)

Maybe I'm just not intellectual enough, but I had a hard time understanding the story on my first hearing. I think I understand it now. I did find the reading ill paced with little real emotions in the reading. According to IMDb, a film version of this play will be coming out in 2016.