Gus Birney and More Will Lead the Cast of SEAGULL: TRUE STORY Off-Broadway

The full cast has been announced for SEAGULL: TRUE STORY, which will begin performances off-Broadway next month. Following sold-out runs at La MaMa and London’s Marylebone Theatre, the production will open off-Broadway in The Public’s LuEsther Hall, beginning with a Joseph Papp Free Performance on Sunday, March 22. SEAGULL: TRUE STORY officially opens on Monday, March 30 and will run through Sunday, April 26.

The cast will consist of Gus Birney (“Black Rabbit”), Andrey Burkovskiy, Ohad Mazor, Myles McCabe, Quentin Lee Moore, Keshet Pratt, Zuzanna Szadkowski, Eric Tabach, and Elan Zafir.

Written by Eli Rarey and created and directed by Alexander Molochnikov, an internationally acclaimed director from the Moscow Art Theatre, SEAGULL: TRUE STORY fuses autobiographical drama and biting political satire with classic Chekhovian themes. This politically charged retelling of Molochnikov’s attempt to stage Chekhov’s The Seagull unfolds as a whirlwind of comedic mayhem, artistic rebellion, and deeply personal reflection on displacement, censorship, and the pursuit of creative freedom. Featuring an extraordinary ensemble of International Artists, SEAGULL: TRUE STORY offers a provocative and poignant exploration of artistic survival, resistance to censorship, and the transformative power of live theater.

“Since the beginning of the war, four years have passed — exactly as long as the First and Second World Wars lasted,” said Director Alexander Molochnikov. “One hundred years ago, the poet Mandelstam, who tragically perished under the wheels of the Soviet system, wrote: “We live, not feeling the country beneath our feet.” I think that many people lived that way then — and live that way today — those who neither speak nor think about the war. That is also a path, but it was not one we could take.

“Our producer Sofia, actor Andrey, and I were not engaged in political theatre before 2022. But when such a catastrophe happens — when it pulls all your friends, your relatives, and you yourself into its millstones — you have to save yourself.

“We saved ourselves through art and tried to tell the story that happened to us, to Russian culture, to the people who were creating freely in Russia before the war. About our decision to leave, impossibility of returning, life in New York.

“I hope this performance feels two countries beneath its feet and, in a vivid, humorous, lyrical, and artistic way, responds to what has been happening to all of us over the past four years.”

MART Foundation Executive Producer Sofia Kapkov shares, “SEAGULL: TRUE STORY is a play about empathy, betrayal, and the choices that shape our lives long after we make them. There is no better home for it than The Public Theater — a place where human truth, community, and bold voices come together on stage.”

Biographies

Gus Birney (Nico) can currently be seen recurring opposite Jude Law and Jason Bateman in BLACK RABBIT on Netflix, and in THE LAST FRONTIER for Apple TV+. Prior to that she starred opposite Courteney Cox in two seasons of the Starz series SHINING VALE, for which she received a Saturn Award nomination. Her other television credits include ‘Jane Humphrey’ in all three seasons of the Apple TV series DICKINSON and a series regular role on Spike TV’s THE MIST.  She will next be seen starring opposite Camila Morrone and Adam DiMarco in the Netflix series SOMETHING VERY BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN. Onstage, Gus made her Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated revival of THE SIGN IN SIDNEY BRUSTEIN’S WINDOW opposite Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan, following a critically acclaimed run at BAM. She returned to the BAM stage in the New York premiere of OUR CLASS and received an Outer Critics Circle nomination for her performance; she also reprised the role in its commercial run at Classic Stage Company, for which she and the cast won a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Ensemble. Other theatre credits include PETRA at the Park Avenue Armory, CSC’s production of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, Williamstown Theater Festival’s production of THE ROSE TATTOO opposite Marisa Tomei, and CONNECTED at 59E59. Gus's film credits include Netflix’s HAPPINESS FOR BEGINNERS, PLAN B, GIVING BIRTH TO A BUTTERFLY, I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS, HERE & NOW, THE MAN IN THE WOODS, A RAINY DAY IN NEW YORK, THREE BIRTHDAYS, and ASLEEP IN MY PALM. Gus is also a singer/songwriter who has played at the Bitter End, Arlene’s Grocery and The Listening Room. She lives in New York City.

Andrey Burkovskiy (MC) grew up in Russia and immigrated to the US in 2022. He graduated from the Moscow Art Theater school. He quickly made a name for himself by starring in major productions of the famous Moscow Art Theater and built a solid career in film and television. He continues to perform across Europe and the U.S. He is also the co-producer and artistic director of the acting studio “Seagull NYC”. Theater: MC in “Seagull: True Story” (La MaMa Theater and Marylebone Theater in London); Menachem in “Our Class” (BAM and Classic Stage Company) - The Lucille Lortel Award winner; Khonen/Dybbuk in “The Dybbuk” (Arlekin Players Theater in Boston) - The Elliot Norton Award winner; Verner in “Solar Line” (Meyerhold Theater); Golubkov in “Flight”, Benua in “Fishman”, Howard in “350 Central Park West”, Leo in “Leading Ladies” at the Moscow Art Theater. FILM: “Doctor Lisa” (Netflix), “Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie,” (Cannes Film Festival) “The Conquest of Siberia” (Amazon Prime),  “Tchaikovsky’s wife” (Cannes Film Festival), “A Clown Story”, “The Sober Cab,” “Life on Fast-Forward”, “Milk”. TV: “Call DiCaprio!”, “An Hour Before the Dawn,” “The Kitchen”, “Mediator”, “Amore More”.

Ohad Mazor (Dmitry) (born 1998 in Haifa, Israel) is a dancer, actor, performance maker and teacher based in New York City. Formerly a member of Batsheva Dance Company (2016-2023) Ohad has danced the work of cutting edge choreographers such as Ohad Naharin and Sharon Eyal. They have presented work at CCA: Tel Aviv-Yafo, Habait Theatre, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Intimadance Festival, and CPR Center For Performance Research, Brooklyn. In 2025, Ohad rechoreographed and joined the cast of Alexander Moloshnikov's 'Seagull: True Story' at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club New York, and at Marylebone Theatre London. 

Myles McCabe (Sasha) is a 26-year-old actor originally from Marshfield, MA. He made his off Broadway debut with Seagull: True Story at La Mama Experimental Theatre in May 2025. After completing his first year at The Neighborhood Playhouse school of theater Myles left to accompany the Seagull: True Story production to London for a run at the Marylebone Theatre. In the two short years since Myles started acting, he’s performed in numerous shorts as well as written, directed and produced his own sketches. He is very confident in his ability to sit, stay, roll over, and walk off leash. He is also house trained.

Quentin Lee Moore (Ivan) is incredibly honored to be making his debut at the esteemed The Public Theater. His performance credits include: Seagull: True Story (Marylebone Theatre), Do You Roll Over in the Night (Linda Gross Theater), Stepping Through Blood (New Perspectives Theater), Black, White and Blue (Tada! Youth Theater), Television: Law & Order Organized Crime (NBC). Born and raised in Chesapeake, VA. He would like to thank his family, friends, and representation at WEG Talent Management in NYC, for their support.

Keshet Pratt (Pickle) is a New York–based actor, writer, dancer, and producer. She danced professionally with the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company before moving to New York, where she completed the T. Schreiber Studio conservatory and earned a BFA in Acting from Pace University’s School of Performing Arts. She has performed internationally on stage and screen. Her writing credits include Digital Diary (2023), and the upcoming short film An Act of Love (2026). She is the creator and producer of Ibogaine Underground, a narrative audio documentary chronicling the birth of New York City's underground ibogaine movement, and its pioneering activists. 

Zuzanna Szadkowski (Olga) is known for playing “Dorota” on Gossip Girl. Other credits include The Gilded Age, Three Women, Worth, Bull, Search Party, The Knick, The Good Wife and Girls. Theater credits include Are the Bennet Girls OK?, Arcadia and Uncle Romeo Vanya Juliet (WSJ Performance of the Year 2018) with Bedlam, Coriolanus at TFANA, queens at LCT3, The Comedy of Errors at the Public and Coach Coach and King Philip’s Head… with Clubbed Thumb. Her writing has been published in The New York Times and Alien Nation. Her play, Fall River Fishing (co-written with Deborah Knox) was produced Off-Broadway in 2023 by Bedlam. 

Eric Tabach (Kon) is a Juilliard trained actor and can currently be seen in Dexter: Resurrection on Paramount+.  Born to an immigrant family and having lived in Russia for 12 years, Eric is grateful to be involved in this show and wants to thank his family, team, and wife for their unwavering love and support. Film credits include Love Is Strange and Dashcam, as well as TV shows such as Law & Order: SVU (NBC), High Maintenance (HBO), Blue Bloods (CBS), and Wu-Tang: An American Saga (Hulu). Theater credits include Days of Rage (Second Stage), The Jungle (St. Ann’s Warehouse), Predictor (AMT) and Seagull: True Story (La Mama). Beyond his screen and stage work, Eric has cultivated a strong international social media presence, connecting with millions of fans all across the globe.