★★★

“a tough piece to engage with”

‘The Wanderers’, directed by Igor Golyak, maps two different marriages within the Jewish experience: one, an Orthodox and very traditional family, and another – set pretty much now – a liberal, well-educated couple from Brooklyn. Abe, (Alex Forsyth) the protagonist, binds the two units together as the son of the former. He is a prolific and successful novelist who is heavily inspired by Philip Roth (a minor warning sign). He and his wife Sophie are both writers, but she has subdued her own (less successful) career to service her husband’s very successful one whilst she cares for the children. After one of his book readings, Abe begins an ethically dubious and emotionally charged email affair with famous actor, Julia (Anna Popplewell). But all is not as it seems.

It is the visual language and metaphor of this play which elevates it. The set (Jan Pappelbaum) features a transparent screen divides the stage horizontally. It is engaged with in a multitude of creative ways, holding much symbolic weight. Throughout the piece, different characters draw props and key words onto the screen. This is very striking: for example, a square becomes a laptop dividing two characters engaged in their email correspondence. This device also cleverly externalises Abe and Sophie’s writerly minds – a useful way of expressing rich interiority. Golyak’s visual landscape here is both attractive and idiosyncratic.

It does, however, work to compensate for the for subpar dialogue and plot. Given that ‘The Wanderers’ centres around two – supposedly excellent – writers, it’s hard to cognitively marry this with the demonstrably unimaginative dialogue and action. The characters, though well-acted, are uncompelling and lack charisma, which makes the whole piece a bit of a schlep.

The acting, to reiterate, is successful. Popplewell is lovely as famous actor, Julia. So too is Katerina Tannenbaum as beleaguered Esther, who spends most of her time drowning in the misery of marital misogyny and boredom. Paksie Vernon as Abe’s maligned wife works well and with integrity. Forsyth is also very watchable, even if his character, unlike his wife, lacks any discernible integrity. Part of the issue here derives from the fact that this show focuses on a sort of male fantasy, inspired by the Philip Roth imaginary. Personally, I feel that angle has been rinsed, and in the absence of nuanced comment to develop this discourse in any way, it flounders as the premise for a show.

It’s hard to pinpoint the purpose of this play: there are gestures towards inherited fictions and the traps of imagination, but these are not adequately developed. Besides the visual spectacle, aided by some excellent lighting (Alex Musgrave), it’s a tough piece to engage with. Not tough to grapple with conceptually, but tough to discern the concepts in the first place.

A big commendation should be noted though: majority of the cast and creative team are actually Jewish – a rarity in the field of representation. We should celebrate Jewish theatre, but I don’t know what the Jewishness in this play offered, or really what ‘The Wanderers’ was trying to offer as a piece of art.

SEAGULL: TRUE STORY

Marylebone Theatre

★★★★★

“Sharp satire and ebullient humour contrast with raw humanity”

Alexander Molochnikov and Eli Rarey’s chaotic but compelling ‘Seagull: True Story’ explodes in a defiant, politically charged, semi-autobiographical reinvention of Chekhov’s revolutionary classic. If Chekhov holds up a mirror to humanity, Molochnikov and Rarey smash it, reflecting a modern world fractured by political and emotional upheaval.

With a stage apron transformed into a boudoir, ‘Seagull: True Story’ promises a spectacle. But will it be heartfelt and vulnerable, like the haunting opening ballad sung in Russian by a middle-aged man? Or a glittery circus, like the flamboyant MC who crashes the stage yelling “fantastic”? The tension between truth and theatrics permeates each scene as we chart the artistic rise and unravelling of young Russian director Kon and his friend Anton. Their radical interpretation of Chekhov’s ‘Seagull’ is threatened when Putin invades Ukraine. Their choices are speak out, be silenced or leave. Anton chooses the former; Kon the latter. But will Kon find artistic freedom in America? And what will he sacrifice to achieve it?

Inspired by Chekhov’s tragicomedy ‘The Seagull’, ‘Seagull True Story’ offers a fractured, provocative and sometimes unsettling commentary on freedom of expression in our modern world. Creator Molochnikov and writer Rarey unflinchingly reinvigorate Chekhov’s characters and themes, weaving disillusionment, sacrifice, and the conflict between truth and tradition into current geopolitics. Sharp satire and ebullient humour contrast with raw humanity, leaving you off-kilter but deeply affected by the unfolding tragedy. If anything, its pre-Trump penning misses a trick in skirting a sharper critique of American democracy. But with so much to unpack, it earns its pardon.

Molochnikov’s direction conjures contradiction, from pulsating parody to sombre and serious. The most powerful characters display the least humanity. As much is said by a glance as by a monologue. The inspired use of the house curtain, flipping aside to conceal and reveal, is a veil Kon never controls. Most of the action takes place in front of said curtain, the stark stage behind exposing the chasm between art and reality. Characters rushing into the audience and ripping out cables further blur the line between fact and fiction.

Fedor Zhuravlev’s compositions are perfectly familiar and foreign, driving and adrift. Noize MC’s cutting lyrics introduce fresh perspectives into a world of self-absorption, and the group rap sections echo Greek chorus. Ohad Mazor’s contemporary choreography injects expertly executed vitality and flow.

Alexander Shishkin’s set design is both rich and stark, the pre-curtain evoking theatricality, communism, Trumpism, and even exploitation and death; the post-curtain giving way to bare brutalism. Plastic screens and props evoke pollution, suffocation and the flimsiness of truth. Yet it’s also surreal, a bath whizzing through a party and a goldfish bowl sporting a buoyant balloon.

Alex Musgrave’s lighting perfectly echoes these contradictions, ranging from dramatic and effusive to cold and isolating. It effectively creates new spaces in the minimal set. Julian Starr’s sound design adds a continual layer of realism (I especially love the little splashes in the bath), punctuated by showy flourishes which reassert the falseness of the theatre. It’s a little loud in places but the cast’s projection usually overcomes this. Kristina Kharlashkina’s costumes range from realistic to grandiose, some characters true to life and the rest varying significantly in tone and silhouette, especially as war breaks.

The cast is magnificent, bringing this complex piece to life on many levels. Daniel Boyd’s Kon is haunted, his desperation suffocating him as reality closes in. Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė’s Olga is a masterclass in subtext, her initial horror at the war masked by forced cheer, making the silences between mother and son scream. Stella Baker’s Nico brings a knowing edge to her embodiment of the ingénue. Andrey Burkovskiy’s MC manages to bring a menacing quality to his relentless cheer. Elan Zafir’s Anton is heartbreakingly steadfast and the emotional soul of the piece.

Like Chekhov, Molochnikov’s ‘Seagull: True Story’ offers a lot to chew on if you’re up to the challenge. This heartbreaking, mesmerising, unflinching reimagining will haunt you like ‘The Seagull’ haunts Kon.

THE WANDERERS

Marylebone Theatre

★★★

“a tough piece to engage with”

THE WANDERERS

Marylebone Theatre

Reviewed on 22nd October 2025

by Violet Howson

Photography by Mark Senior

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE WANDERERS

THE WANDERERS

THE WANDERERS

SEAGULL: TRUE STORY

Marylebone Theatre

★★★★★

“Sharp satire and ebullient humour contrast with raw humanity”