Zoë Wanamaker stars in Chekhov’s masterpiece. Ranyevskaya returns more or less bankrupt after ten years abroad. Luxuriating in her fading moneyed world and regardless of the increasingly hostile forces outside, she and her brother snub the lucrative scheme of Lopakhin, a peasant turned entrepreneur, to save the family estate. In so doing, they put up their lives to auction and seal the fate of the beloved orchard. Set at the very start of the twentieth century, The Cherry Orchard captures a poignant moment in Russia’s history as the country rolls inexorably towards 1917. This spirited new version of Chekhov’s last play follows Andrew Upton’s acclaimed adaptations of Philistines and The White Guard.
Recorded LIVE at London’s National Theatre on Thursday, June 30 2011.
