In Summer 2026, Cheek by Jowl will present a new ballet adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece The Seagull. The production will star Natalia Osipova as Nina and will feature choreography from Jason Kittelberger and an original score by Kirill Richter.

The company is looking for 6 professional dancers to join the production, which will premiere and tour in the second half of 2026. Callbacks will take place from 13-15 November, with a weeklong workshop later in December with the full company.

Character descriptions

ARKADINA: 45, glamorous, confident (on the surface) successful (on the surface) The thing that makes her most vulnerable is her age. But she is the undoubted star of the group.

TRIGORIN: 40, A successful writer but he lives with the dread that he is second rate. He needs the adoration of Nina and the obsessive attention of Treplev. Arkadina plays that vulnerability perfectly.

TREPLEV: About 20, nervy, needy, anxious. Always searching for approval, particularly from his mother Arkadina. Dreads Trigorin because of his success as a writer. But more violently because he wants that attention and respect from his mother. Like Nina he lives in constant  dread of failure. His defence is that Trigorin, although commercially successful, is merely a hack or at least never considered to be a serious artist.

MASHA: 25, seems more mature than Nina, very intelligent, very clever, frightens the men. In love with Treplev but eventually marries Medvedenko.

MEDVEDENKO: 28, A schoolteacher in the local town. In love with Masha who he doggedly follows and obeys.

DORN: 45, A Doctor, worldly, sophisticated. An old flame of Arkadina.