The Cherry Orchard

Synopsis

The Cherry Orchard premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904, on Chekhov's 44th birthday and only six months before his death. Overjoyed at being back at her large country house Madame Ranyevskaya is reassured to find the cherry orchard looking unchanged. But for how long? The family's wealth has gone and their only hope is to destroy the beloved orchard. The axes are ready to swing through the orchards of Russia ..

Our Review:

10 June 2009

Simon Russell Beale and director Sam Mendes last collaborated on Chekhov and Shakespeare when they did unforgettable productions of Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night, as part of Mendes’ farewell to the Donmar Warehouse in 2002.

This larger Bridge Project enterprise - involving the Old Vic, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (where those earlier plays transferred following the Donmar) and Mendes’ Neal Street Productions – is far less satisfactory. The mix of British and American actors – plus Sinead Cusack from Ireland – leads to muddle and confusion in the accenting of the language.

And the brilliant Russell Beale, an actor who can find sermons in stones and books in the running brooks, is far too fallible as the jealous Leontes in The Winter's Tale and far too malleable as the brutish serf-turned-property-owner Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard.

It’s as though he’s finding sweet ad...

Read more of the review

Latest User Review

Backdrifter - 17 August 2009:

Note this comment is for Winter's Tale alone. We enjoyed it very much and couldn't find fault with any of the performances. A wonderfully clear, gripping production....

Read more and add your own review

Related Whatsonstage.com Articles

Review Round-up: A Bridge Too Far for Mendes? More»