San Francisco International Arts Festival

May 26-28. The Seagull and Other Birds is a roller coaster reimagining of Anton Chekhov’s much-loved comic masterpiece. The performance centers around a concise new version of The Seagull integrated with a number of works specially commissioned by the Republic of Ireland’s premiere theater company. Through the wormhole of the new work, Chekhov’s characters find themselves in extraordinarily different contexts: classic plays, TV shows, YouTube and stuff they’ve just made up. The result is playful and uncompromising – expect lots of talk about art, some action, and tons of love.

Pan Pan Theatre is the longest-established contemporary theatre company in Ireland, founded in 1991 by co-artistic directors Aedín Cosgrove and Gavin Quinn. The company has constantly examined and challenged the nature of its work and has resisted settling into well tried formulas. Developing new performance ideas is at the centre of the company’s raison d’être which is born from a desire to be individual and provide innovation in the development of theatre art. All the works created are original, either through the writing (original plays) or through the totally unique expression of established writings.