A woman is stood on a theatre stage in front of a red curtain. She’s white, wearing all black and has long brown hair. A seagull is flying towards her, blocking us from seeing her face.

NINA

A new play by Caroline Williams
A BAC Production

Information

Times: 7:30pm, 2:30pm


Tickets: Pay What You Can (Recommended Price £16)*

*All orders subject to a £2 transaction fee

Age Recommendation: 16+


This event takes place in our Council Chamber

Priority booking is now open to BAC Champions and Hive Members.
General booking opens Friday 24 July at 12pm


Co-directed by Deborah Pearson and Caroline Williams

“I’m a seagull. No, that’s not right. I’m an actress.”

A series of actresses audition to play Nina in The Seagull for a charismatic, yet sinister director. His methods are unorthodox, annihilating, and very effective.

In a debut play from celebrated director Caroline Williams, co-directed by award-
winning artist Deborah Pearson, NINA questions why so many women are drawn to
play an actress who has everything taken away from her by men. And why do the men
in Chekhov’s original play keep trying to turn the girls they fancy into dead seagulls?

In a post #MeToo era, NINA is a meta theatrical fever dream on coercion, power and the quest for creative expression.

One of the most insightful encounters I have had in a theatre.Theatre Voices

If the opportunity presents itself to see Pearson’s work you must go immediately.The Huffington Post


Reviews for previous work

Biographies

Caroline Williams is Associate Artist at Bristol Old Vic. As an award-winning director and maker, her work has been presented at the V&A, National Theatre, Young Vic, English National Opera, Prague Quadrennial, Arnolfini, Shakespeare’s Globe, Bristol Old Vic and Galway International Festival.

Deborah Pearson is a live artist and playwright.  Her work has toured to five continents and over twenty countries, and has been translated into six languages. Her shows The Future Show and Inside Bitch are both published with Oberon Books. She is the founding co-director of UK artist collective, Forest Fringe and was a resident artist at Somerset House Studios with Caroline Williams.

Creative Team

Writer Caroline Williams
Co-directors Deborah Pearson and Caroline Williams
Dramaturg Christopher Brett Bailey
Video Design Daniel Denton
Lighting Design Martin Langthorne
Composition/Sound Design AJ Turner
Movement Laura Dannequin
Producer Kate Yedigaroff
Casting Director Nadine Rennie CGA

Developed on Complicité’s Mudlarks International Residency.

Developed with the support of the National Theatre’s Generate Programme and Bristol Old Vic.

Commissioned by Battersea Arts Centre. Made possible with funding by Arts Council England.

A BAC Production

Access

PRE EVENT INFORMATION

This event takes place in person in our Council Chamber. This space is on the first floor, with step-free access via a lift.

If you have booked a ticket you will receive an email from us before your performance detailing important information about your visit.

PERSONAL ASSISTANT/COMPANION TICKETS

If you require the assistance of a friend or helper to attend, we can make a free ticket available for your companion. You can book access companion tickets online or contact the Box Office to book by emailing boxoffice@bac.org.uk.

To book a free access companion online:

  • Log in to your account here
  • Go to ‘Other preferences’ and tick ‘I require a personal assistant/companion’.
  • Choose the performance, date and seats you would like and if you add at least 2 tickets to your basket, then one of these will automatically become free.

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Content

  • Gunshots
  • Blood
  • Scene depicting masturbation
  • Scene depicting childbirth
  • Reference to child death

This show is in development and content guidance may be updated.

VISIT OUR ACCESS PAGE

We want our shows to be as accessible to as many people as possible.

We offer tickets to most shows on a Pay What You Can basis throughout the year.

Tickets for Council Chamber performances in 2026 start at £12.50, and we have recommended pricing to help you choose a price that works for you.

We know that ticket price is a huge barrier for some. If you can afford to pay the recommended price or more, choosing to do so supports those that can’t. It makes it possible for us to continue to offer Pay What You Can and welcome those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend.

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