For his first Chekhov production, Thomas Ostermeier is staging the Russian master’s razor-sharp and deeply human analysis of the conflict between an up-and-coming generation of young artists and an older generation clinging to its reputation and achievements.

Konstantin is an aspiring young playwright and in love with Nina, the heroine of his first play. Having penned a manifesto for a new theatre, Konstantin is particularly keen to earn approval for his ideals from his mother, the actress Arkadina. But when the play's premiere at a friend’s country estate ends in disaster, the famous actress is unable to see her son as a serious artist. The ambitious Nina then decides to seek her fortune with Trigorin, an older playwright and Arkadina’s lover. Hoping he will help her to achieve her dreams, she rejects Konstantin, leaving him in despair.

Years later, Nina and Konstantin meet again. Nina’s career is in tatters. Trigorin has left her, and yet she is unable to let him go. Catastrophe looms. In The Seagull, everyone longs for love and recognition, but no one seems able to find it.

Ostermeier shows us an older generation undermining the ardour of youth to secure its own position, set against a younger generation all too willing to trade in its ideals for public prestige.