Emilia Clarke is to make her West End theatre debut in a new production of Chekhov’s The Seagull, adapted by Anya Reiss and directed by Jamie Lloyd.
Clarke, best known for playing the “mother of dragons” Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, said she was “over the moon” to be taking on the role of the aspiring actor Nina in Reiss’s adaptation. She praised Lloyd’s “singular vision” in revitalising classic texts and said Reiss “brings a light touch of modernity to this beautifully crafted play”.
First staged in 2012, with Lily James as the teenage Nina, Reiss’s version updates the action to modern-day Isle of Man. Reiss followed it up with a second Chekhov adaptation, Three Sisters, relocated to the Middle East.
The announcement completes the Jamie Lloyd Company’s starry season at the Playhouse theatre, which opened with a new version of Cyrano de Bergerac featuring a shaven-headed James McAvoy (without prosthetic nose), which has rap battles in lieu of sword fights. The season will close with A Doll’s House, in a version by Frank McGuinness, in which Jessica Chastain will make her West End debut.
The Seagull opens on 19 March, with previews from 11 March and runs until 30 May.
