ABSTRACT
Although a show of healthy spirits is always pleasant to encounter in the theatre, a show of inner spirit is essential to ‘The Sea Gull.’ It seems to this observer that Mr. Lunt and especially Miss Fontanne remain brightly on the surface of an introspective play. Gloomy acting is out of fashion just now. But a literal rendering of ‘The Sea Gull’ merely accents the looseness and aimlessness of the dialogue. Chekhov was writing the portrait of a particular period in Russian society under the monarchy; it was stale and limp. ‘Boredom’ was the modish word. With the detachment of a man of medical science he recognized the symptoms of death, and he put them between the lines which echo mortality. He said a good many wise things about drama, literature and life, but always by way of contrast.
