‘It’s about how that person is used,’ the actor said. Cate Blanchett has shared her opinion on whether she thinks celebrity-led plays are ruining West End theatre. The Oscar-winning actor, 55, is set to star in Thomas Ostermeier’s new production of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull at the Barbican. The six-week run marks her return to the stage for the first time in six years. Blanchett last starred in When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other at the National Theatre in 2019, shortly before the pandemic.
![[Cate Blanchett in 'When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other']](https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2019/01/18/12/cate-blanchett.jpg)
The Seagull is produced by Wessex Grove, who previously brought Andrew Scott’s one-man rendition of Vanya and an adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life, starring James Norton, to the stage. Celebrity-led productions have become increasingly common in recent years. Emily in Paris star Lily Collins, for example, made her West End debut in a widely panned production of Bess Wohl’s Barcelona last year, while several celebrities, including singers Cheryl Cole and Lily Allen, have starred in 2:22 A Ghost Story.
“It’s about how that person is used and whether their celebrity is harnessed to the cart of the production in a positive way, because sometimes that can really work,” Blanchett said. “But it’s the follow-spot theatre that you’re talking about, where the lead actress or actor is slightly more brightly lit than others… You used the word ‘cynical’. I think you can smell that.”. Elsewhere in the interview, Blanchett said the secret to a successful production is believability. “In everything you do, you’re very aware that you’re walking that line with an audience where you’re saying, ‘We’re doing this for you but it is absolutely happening,’” she explained.
“Theatre’s like a magic trick. Are you coming with me? Are we going here together?”. Blanchett will star as Arkadina in Ostermeier's forthcoming adaptation of Russian writer Anton Chekhov’s play alongside Mad Max actor Tom Burke in the role of Trigorin and Emma Corrin as Nina. Chekhov’s 1985 play follows Arkadina, a dominating personality who must navigate a series of personal conflicts when she visits her family’s country estate. Her husband is romantically pursued by a younger actor, while her son attempts to break free of Arkadina’s influence.
