Alexander Molochnikov turns Chekhov on his head in Seagull: True Story, a darkly comic, politically charged reimagining of the classic. Inspired by his own exile from Russia after speaking out against the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Molochnikov charts the journey of Kon, a fictional director protagonist forced to abandon his vision under censorship, who flees to New York in search of artistic freedom.
Following a sold-out run Off-Broadway at La Mama, the production arrives at London’s Marylebone Theatre, featuring a bold, multinational ensemble and a creative team that fuses autobiography, meta-theatre, satire, and absurdist humour. Through multimedia elements, original music, and audacious theatricality, the play probes the costs of exile, the fragility of truth under authoritarian regimes, and the courage it takes to create in a world determined to silence art.
In this candid conversation with The Indiependent, Molochnikov discusses staging Chekhov in exile, the personal stakes behind the production, and why even the darkest stories can soar when told with humor.
The Indiependent: After a sold-out run in New York, Seagull: True Story makes its London debut at Marylebone Theatre. How does it feel to bring the production here, and what do you hope British audiences will respond to its themes?
Alexander Molochnikov: I observe the British reaction every evening. It is complex, as it should be for complex, wise intellectuals. Perhaps the issues we raise—especially regarding art versus the system, bans, and censorship—are less immediate in the UK than for Russians or Americans. This is a compliment to Britain; it means this is indeed a free country. Nevertheless, I am sure people should reflect on these questions and view our performance as a guide to preventing control over individual freedom, no matter where it comes from.
You’ve said you never imagined staging a play about yourself until the war happened. What moment convinced you that your own story had to take center stage?
I started making this performance as an adaptation, a version of The Seagull, but then I realized that The Seagull itself should take a back seat. I simply wrote down the events that happened to me over the past year (already being in America). There were so many that I understood—this alone was enough for a play.
Many theatre makers have reinterpreted Chekhov’s classic in countless ways. Why did you choose it as the framework for such a personal, political retelling, and how does Chekhov’s world intersect with your own?
This play marked the beginning of the era of Director’s Theatre. It failed when attempts were made to stage it according to the old rules—with the author and actors as the main focus. However, it took off when directed by the great [Konstantin] Stanislavski, who found the right way for the actors to exist and began a new chapter in theatre’s history, where the director offers their own interpretation of the text. The play itself is also about this—the freedom of creativity and the search for one’s own “flight of the soul.” And as soon as art takes flight from someone’s soul, there is always someone who wants to limit it.
Why did you choose satire and metatheatre to tackle such heavy themes, and what do these tools allow you to express that a traditional tragic staging could not?
I believe the most dramatic stories can be told with a smile and with humour. For example, my favorite film about the Holocaust is Life is Beautiful. I really love that approach, and I hope I can capture it.
Your cast unites artists from around the world, including exiled actors and theatre veterans. How did this mix shape the storytelling and enhance the play’s universality?
It is still mixing. I am observing it but it is definitely a very exciting experiment. We have actors from six countries.
You’ve described creative freedom as a daily negotiation with power and survival. What reflections or conversations do you hope audiences take away about the cost—and necessity—of making art today?
I believe that the play is not only about art, but also about family, love, home, and the freedom to be oneself. I would like this performance to break down boundaries, the walls that people build in their own minds, which leads to borders and their strengthening between countries, and sometimes even to wars. Just as seagulls fly without borders, I wish our consciousness could also be more flexible and courageous. The story we created this play about, taught me the importance of courage to stand up against those who are convinced that you should not create and would be better off remaining silent.
As the ovations rise each night in London, it is clear that Seagull: True Story speaks beyond borders. For Molochnikov, the play is not only about art but about home, love, and the human refusal to remain silent. His Seagull may take flight from a place of displacement, but it soars with defiance, humor, and the boundless courage of creation.
Seagull: True Story will be performed at Marylebone Theatre until 12 October.
Words by Khushboo Malhotra
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