Arcane Framing a Seagull

By W.A.H. III

Twelve chipped and scarred chairs are the only furniture. The walls are suggested by mottled backdrops resembling abstract paintings, with jagged window-like spots cut out and covered with wire mesh. A young amateur's play- within-a-play, supposedly taking place in the night air of this retreat in the Russian countryside, turns into a laser show that drags viewers' eyes to the theater ceiling. Naturalistic scenes are interrupted by speeches snarled at the audience, by Scriabin piano works played onstage and by dimly lit, nap- length silences.

What does this self-conscious display have to do with Chekhov's The Seagull? On the whole, not much. The awkward playwright of Chekhov's script and Artistic Director Peter Sellars of the American National Theater in Washington share a bold if at times risible "search for new forms." But within the arcane visual framing, Sellars has mounted an intelligent reading by a cast notably including Colleen Dewhurst. He makes a case that the play is above all about jealousy and offers an electrifying moment near the end, when the words of the play-within-a-play suddenly take on majesty by underlining the blasted emotional landscape surrounding their author. Sellars, 28, remains a figure of promise more than attainment, but even his failures, like this one, have the merit of a distinctive signature.