Thanks to Blanchett’s charismatic turn as a fading actress, this new Chekhov adaptation in London hangs together in spite of Thomas Ostermeier’s antics.

I know that’s not what you expected,” says Zachary Hart’s Simon as he dismounts from his quad bike. Neither did I expect him to whip out a guitar and start belting out Billy Bragg’s The Milkman of Human Kindness.

Joined by Emma Corrin and Tom Burke, Blanchett is unmissable in this experimental take on Chekhov’s masterpiece

She leads an impressive cast including Tom Burke and Emma Corrin in avant-garde director Thomas Ostermeier's cracking modern take on Chekhov

Led by a wildly over the top Cate Blanchett, leaning into all the histrionic impulses of the popular actress, Irina Arkadina, the jokes, the clowning and the putdowns come thick and fast. But there’s a relentless quality to them and a jarring when the tone changes - half comic and half tragic instead of fully comic and fully tragic at the same time.

The Australian Oscar winner returns to the stage in Chekhov’s classic play, but does Thomas Ostermeier’s modern, meta-theatrical staging captivate the critics? Fergus Morgan rounds up the reviews.

Director Thomas Ostermeier brings a combination of devil-may-care boldness and truth to Duncan Macmillan's witty new adaptation, also featuring Tom Burke, Emma Corrin and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

Cate Blanchett and Tom Burke make their return to the stage in Thomas Ostermeier's new production of Chekhov’s The Seagull. What did the critics think?