The Seagull is one of Chekhov's most important plays. He himself calls it a comedy in 4 acts. He writes characteristically to his publisher: “I write this play not without pleasure, although I feel that I am significantly violating the traditional theatrical conventions. It is a comedy with three female and six male roles, with four acts, a landscape with a lake, much discussion about literature, little action, and five tones of love.”

Thus described by the modest Chekhov. In reality, it is a drama where the characters are haunted by melancholy. They hope, love, and hate as if nothing is happening. They are restless and thirst for much, yet they are incapable of realizing their dreams. Just like the seagulls that fly over the lake, they are symbols of freedom, even when receiving the bullets of some hunter. They feel confused that their life is nothing but a dream.

The one who truly brought Chekhov's works to life and revealed the evocative atmosphere of Chekhovian theater was the great director, actor, teacher, and creator of the Moscow Art Theatre, Konstantin Stanislavski, who portrayed many roles from these plays. The Seagull was first performed in Petersburg on October 17, 1896.