Chekhov’s classic gets a fresh update in a new production from the Bedlam company

Though Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull has always struck a chord with modern audiences, it can also sometimes feel distant and austere in productions that hew faithfully to literal translations. The Bedlam Theater Company, a troupe known for innovative takes on classics such as Hamlet and Saint Joan, has given strong new wings to this play about unsatisfied love and unfulfilled dreams at the Sheen Center. Eric Tucker, one of Bedlam’s founders, directs and stars in a riveting, emotionally charged production that makes this play feel more relevant — and intimate — than ever. In Anya Reiss’ new adaptation, the play’s setting is still the country home of retired government worker Sorin (Stephan Wolfert), but his estate is located on the Isle of Man in the present day rather than in 19th-century Russia. Struggling writer Konstantin (Eric Tucker) has written a play to be performed for Sorin’s guests, among them his mother, Irina Arkadina (Vaishnavi Sharma), a well-known actress. Konstantin’s attempts at creating a new form of theater fall flat, as does his love affair with Nina (Laura Baranik), an aspiring actress who eventually spurn’s Konstantin’s love and becomes infatuated with Boris Trigorin (Jason O’Connell), a famous writer and Arkadina’s lover. Few in this group of artists, intellectuals, and emotional misfits, including the perennially sable-clad Masha (Andrus Nichols), are destined to find happiness, especially Konstantin and Nina, whose ill-fated careers and love affairs lead them down destructive paths of madness and despair.