Devising process in the text-based theatre: The Seagull by the ensemble of the Zagreb Youth Theatre, Bobo Jelčić and Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

The text examines the performance The Seagull (2013) created by the director Bobo Jelčić and the ensemble of the Zagreb Youth Theatre and roughly based on the play by A. P. Chekhov. The director transfers certain elements of the devising process which he has developed through his earlier work, primarily the authentic approach to the given material, to the group work on the previously existing script. As a result, the performance manifests some characteristics of devised theatre mostly visible in the relation of the actor to his/her role and the presence of the verbal text in the performance. Based on the authentic performer’s material and the authentic creative process the performance now emphasizes the metonymical relation of the performer to the role which also includes the remake of the verbal layer of the play by the ensemble