A blazing red backdrop. In a rectangle defined by a mostly red-on-gold Oriental rug sits a wide table of the kind often used for rehearsal read-throughs. Behind it, a black folding chair; more chairs in front. When Natasha Parry as Russian actress Olga Knipper first meets Michel Piccoli as writer Anton Tchekhov, he pulls off the chair covers and the "drama" begins at rehearsals for The Seagull. Her soft dark hair, parted in the center and drawn up in a circlet, shows off the many facial expressions she will bring to mirror her written/spoken ones. A simple white blouse, open at the neck, carries a scarf -- black like her skirt -- but trimmed with the carpet colors. It will be used to designate atmospheres like heat, cold; attitudes like openness, withdrawal. Piccoli, balding on top, is ringed below with white hair. He's casually beige-clothed. Anything but neutral, though, are his bright eyes and deep brow furrows. His gestures, including tight romantic ones, are grand.
The actors set scenes by saying what unseen things are where (a garden, for instance) at what time (like New Year's Eve) and for what occasion (as at the premiere of Uncle Vanya in Moscow or home in Yalta or a spa). As characters, they both embody and describe. They turn chairs into train seats, a desk, a chaise. At one point, Piccoli depicts Chekhov, at prescribed rest, by turning his cane into a fishing pole.
Despite some musical background and lighting effects, Peter Brook's production is minimalist, so pointedly that the director seems to be imitating himself. Despite reliance on language, it also illustrates Brook's internationalism. (And touring should be a snap.)
The script derives from 412 letters over six years between the couple as professionals, friends, lovers, and spouses. As leading lady in Chekhov's major plays, Knipper often mentions Stanislavsky, rehearsals, audience reactions. It was to her that Chekhov insisted he meant The Cherry Orchard to be a comedy, however sad it made viewers. With her encouragement, he wrote his major plays. From her, he seemed to pick up spark and optimism, even as his health failed. Their symmetry is well reflected in the title, which is the last line.
