The Cherry Orchard - Couverture souple

First performed at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1904, directed by Konstantin Stanislavsky, The Cherry Orchard remains a classic of the theatre. Completed less than a year before his death at the age of forty-four, Chekhov's last 'comedy' still ranks supreme as a human tragedy of dispossession with audiences and actors alike. Peter Gill's luminous version brings the psychological realism of Chekhov s characters into sharp focus; fragile souls poised on the brink of happiness which never comes, or trapped in a void between the old world and the new.

Chekhov’s last play, The Cherry Orchard is a powerful work that addresses many of the socioeconomic developments in Russia at the turn of the century. Telling the story of an aristocratic Russian family that must sell its prized estate to a former serf, The Cherry Orchard details the collapse of the Russian aristocracy and the senseless materialism of the rising bourgeoisie. Serving to influence playwrights such as George Bernard Shaw and Arthur Miller, The Cherry Orchard remains one of Chekhov’s most celebrated works.