It's the first time in six years Cate Blanchett will act in the theatre.
ADVERTISEMENTAustralian actress Cate Blanchett is set to return to the stage in a London adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s "The Seagull". It’s the first time the two-time Oscar winner will perform in the theatre in six years.
The 55-year-old star of Carol and Tár will play Arkadina in the new adaptation alongside British actor Tom Burke in the role of Trigorin. Burke most recently starred as Pretorian Jack in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
This latest version of Chekhov’s masterpiece will play at the Barbican Theatre in London for six weeks starting February 2025. It’s the second time ‘The Seagull’ has been adapted to London’s stages in recent memory after Jamie Lloyd’s spartan production with Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke in 2022.
German theatre director Thomas Ostermeier will helm the production. Ostermeier is known for his adaptations of the classical canon, including Shakespeare and Ibsen, including a version of ‘Enemy of the People’ with House of the Dragon star Matt Smith last year.
Blanchett has won two acting Oscars for her performances in The Aviator and Blue Jasmine, and has received nominations for Elizabeth, Notes on a Scandal, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, I’m Not There, Carol, and Tár.
No stranger to the Russian greats, Burke is known for his performance as Fedya Dolokhov in the BBC TV adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s "War & Peace". Both he and Blanchett have also recently starred together in the Steven Soderbergh film Black Bag, set to be released in 2025.
“I have known and admired Cate for many years, and to see her on stage is always a privilege,” Ostermeier told the BBC. “I am thrilled that we will make our first artistic collaboration with this production of The Seagull at the Barbican, and that London will experience this once-in-a-generation actress in one of the greatest theatrical roles of Arkadina.”
Chekhov’s "The Seagull" is considered one of the greatest plays in theatre history. The lead role Arkadina is of an ageing actress whose ego often outshines her family members, namely her son Trigorin, and struggles to navigate the complex dynamics of her countryside home.
