"Yana Wuytjens is the star of the evening as 'Konstantin' and emphasizes 'tragic' in this tragicomedy"

"In [Seagull] you are not so much looking at a story, but at people with their desires and flaws. That is of course to the credit of Chekhov, who drew out great characters, but certainly also to that of the eight actors who throw themselves completely."

"This play was anything but easy to make because of all the barriers, yet the makers still find the space to break with patriarchal norms in addition, and to show how difficult it is to crawl out of our bubble in this polarized world. But that it is not impossible: [Seagull] shows that too."

"This ‘[seagull]’ thus does justice to Chekhov in an original way by deploying sign language as a rich expressive tool that erases the distinction between those with poor hearing and those without. All actors are on the stage with equal weapons. When Stijn Van Opstal thought of a play in sign language, it seemed like a real gamble. However, thanks to the efforts of the players, accompanists and interpreters, it turned out to be a total triumph. This is simply a very good performance of one of the most moving texts in theatre history. Stijn Van Opstal gambled and won."

"In [seagull], Olympique Dramatique rewrites Chekhov's The Seagull with Flemish Sign Language (VGT) as the central language. This forces a different economy of the senses, different decisions about where you put your focus, as a spectator, actually a very different sensibility. Thus, the subtle class struggle that Chekhov is always engaged in goes one step further: here, communication is questioned, and even language itself. (...) Sign language becomes the norm, logocentrism changes shape, gesture dominates, not spoken language."

"Chekhov's wonderful classic only gains strength in sign language. (...) This performance and certainly the surprising ending make for the most moving Seagull performance I have seen in my life."

"The best way to learn a language is to meet it. And since my language is theater, I sought out people to create a performance with. My curiosity became an ambition and in mid-November 'Seagull' will be performed as the first repertory piece in Flemish Sign Language at the Bourla."

"I really hadn't thought that, that the hearing actors would be able to gesticulate so fluently. Even offstage, we can already communicate quite well. That was always very important to me: that we would make a completely equal performance."

"‘Finally deaf actors are no longer outsiders’: Olympique Dramatique performs Chekhov in sign language"

"Antwerp's Toneelhuis plays ‘Seagull’ in sign language with deaf and hearing actors."

"Chekhov creates comedies with immense humour and compassion about the stumbling man we have apparently been for centuries. ‘The Seagull’ in particular is, as far as I am concerned, one of the most beautiful and tender plays in theatre history."

"Olympique Dramatique performing Chekhov's ‘Seagull’ in sign language is a first. Listen to the radio report (in Dutch)"

"No one can more tenderly analyse the fumbling man than Chekhov"

"Premiere of *Seagull* in Flemish Sign Language."