Seagull: True Story brings political satire and personal reckoning to Marylebone Theatre
Following a critically acclaimed, sold-out run Off-Broadway, Seagull: True Story makes its UK premiere this September at London’s Marylebone Theatre.
Bold, bruising, and darkly funny, the production sees BAFTA Award-winning director Alexander Molochnikov blend Chekhovian themes with biting satire, music and autobiographical drama in a piece that feels as timely as it is theatrical.
The play follows Kon, a Russian theatre director whose reimagining of The Seagull is stripped bare by state censorship after the invasion of Ukraine. Desperate to preserve the soul of his work — and his own safety — he flees to New York, only to find that the freedom he imagined isn’t as simple as a change of city. What unfolds is a dark comedy about identity, artistic survival and the chaos of starting again in exile.
Molochnikov, once a rising star of Russian theatre, left the country in 2022 after speaking out against Putin’s regime. Like Kon, he found himself abruptly cut off from his artistic life, forced to begin again. Seagull: True Story draws heavily from this rupture — part homage to Chekhov, part howl of protest, and part theatrical survival instinct. It’s metatheatre with teeth.
London audiences will see a fresh cast take the stage, led by Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė as Olga. A household name in Eastern Europe and a familiar face to international filmgoers, Dapkūnaitė is known for her roles in Burnt by the Sun, Mission: Impossible and Hannibal Rising, as well as for stage performances at the Old Vic and Hampstead Theatre. Opposite her is Daniel Boyd as Kon, whose recent credits include Farm Hall in the West End and House of the Dragon for HBO.
Several cast members from the New York run return to their roles in London, including Andrey Burkovskiy, a Russian actor now in exile, who plays MC and Barry, and Quentin Lee Moore, who reprises Ivan and Jack. They are joined by Stella Baker as Nico, Elan Zafir as Anton and Sorry, and a trio of performers from the original ensemble — Keshet Pratt, Ohad Mazor, and Myles McCabe III.
Though the play is laced with humour and absurdity, its subject matter is anything but trivial. It interrogates the limits of creative freedom, both under authoritarianism and within supposedly liberal artistic spaces. The result is a piece that’s as moving as it is anarchic, and as personal as it is political.
The creative team includes writer Eli Rarey, with design by Alexander Shishkin, lighting by Alex Musgrave, sound by Julian Starr and costumes by Kristina Kharlashkina. Music is composed by Fedor Zhuravlev, with lyrics by Russian rap artist Noize MC, and choreography is by Ohad Mazor.
Presented by the US-based MART Foundation and London’s Wild Yak, Seagull: True Story runs at Marylebone Theatre from 5 September to 12 October 2025.
The production has a running time of approximately two and a half hours, including an interval. Tickets are available via the Marylebone Theatre website, with prices starting at £22.75.
Marylebon Theatre address:
Rudolf Steiner House
35 Park Road, London NW1 6XT
Elena Leo is the Culture & Lifestyle Editor of Ikon London Magazine.
