DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

The Cherry Orchard

Anton Chekhov author Simon Stephens editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published:10th Oct '14

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Cherry Orchard cover

This version of Chekhov's classic work by playwright Simon Stephens is an anguished and heartbreaking love letter to a society in violent transition.

The funny thing is the harder I work the more clearly I understand things. When I’m worn out after a day’s work then it’s like my brain relaxes. And sometimes then I get it. The meaning of my life. My purpose on this earth. How many people ever get to say that? And you know what? It doesn’t matter. Doesn’t change anything. It is not important. In Chekhov's tragi-comedy - arguably his most popular play - the Gayev family is torn by powerful forces deeply rooted in history and the society in which they live. Their estate is hopelessly in debt. Urged to cut down their beautiful cherry orchard and sell the land for holiday cottages, the family struggles to act decisively. Vigorous and profound, this new version of Chekhov's classic play by Olivier award-winner Simon Stephens, from a literal translation by Helen Rappaport, is an anguished and heartbreaking love letter to a society in violent transition. It received its world premiere at the Young Vic, London, on 10 October 2014.

Now Chekhov's final and finest play, from 1903, is the latest twentieth-century masterpiece to get a good going-over. Actually, make that an excellent going-over . . . It's been pruned, yes, but this grimly witty tragicomedy is unmistakably Chekhov . . . and it teems with life. * The Times *
Stephens [has] refocussed Chekhov's play into a potent study in feminine - rather than societal - collapse. * Time Out London *
Chekhov was superb on the destructive impact of people who take no heed: who turn other people's lives upside down (Uncle Vanya) or blithely ignore warnings (Cherry Orchard). He was superb too on those who can see the dangers, but are powerless to do anything. Little wonder then, that these great plays feel so painfully pertinent now to audiences keenly aware of intractable global problems. Little wonder either that contemporary theatre-makers seek to meet his works in the spirit of innovation. * Financial Times *
If Chekhov were planning a revenant visit to see how his work fares in England in the 21 century, this would be an opportune moment to come. * Evening Standard *
Revivals of classic plays are the lifeblood of theatre. They are the way in which the art form tests the reputation, relevance and validity of the masterpieces of the past. * Tribune *

ISBN: 9781474231770

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 109g

104 pages