The Seagull that Transformed Staging Chekhov in Hungary Gábor Székely: The Seagull, 1971

Kékesi-Kun, Árpád (2024) The Seagull that Transformed Staging Chekhov in Hungary Gábor Székely: The Seagull, 1971. THEATRON: SZÍNHÁZTUDOMÁNYI PERIODIKA, 18 (4). pp. 37-49. ISSN 1418-9941

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Abstract

A few months after Gábor Székely’sappointment as the chief director of theSzigligeti Theatre in Szolnok in 1971, thepremiere of The Seagull opened a new chapter not only in the life of a small rural theatre,but also in the stage history of Chekhov’splays in Hungary. The production immediately attracted national attention, and together with Gábor Zsámbéki’s staging of thesame play, opening in Kaposvár a few weeksearlier, prompted a reassessment of the Stanislavsky tradition, which had been a strongcanon for Chekhov’s plays in Hungary duringstate socialism. The Seagull in Szolnok did notmake any significant changes to the text ofthe play, yet it developed a unique reading,the exploration of which was considered primary in its reviews. Avoiding any overt updating, Székely’s mise-en-scène orchestrated theperformance of The Seagull for the perceptual experience of the spectators of the 1970sand brought a turn to the decades-old conventions of playing Chekhov. The essay examines why this production occupies such astrong position in theatre history and how itcould break and create tradition at the sametime.

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