Other editions of book The Cherry Orchard

Madame Ranyevskaya and her daughter Anya have returned home from Paris to discover that their family estate – which includes their beloved cherry orchard – has to be sold to cover the family’s debts. They believe a miracle can save their orchard. But will their stubborn pride and fond, childhood memories be enough? Chekhov’s tragic-comedy is about the passing of an era and is a timeless study of a Russian aristocratic family desperately clinging to the past. Among the star cast in this 1974 production are Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, Sinéad Cusack, Anna Massey, Patricia Routledge and Andrew Sachs.2 CDs. 1 hr 48 mins.

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‘The Cherry Orchard’ is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It opened at the Moscow Art Theatre on 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Although Chekhov intended it as a comedy, and it does contain some elements of farce, Stanislavski insisted on directing the play as a tragedy. Since this initial production, directors have had to contend with the dual nature of the play. The play concerns an aristocratic Russian woman and her family as they return to their family estate (which includes a large and well-known cherry orchard) just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage. While presented with options to save the estate, the family essentially does nothing and the play ends with the sale of the estate to the son of a former serf; the family leaves to the sound of the cherry orchard being cut down. The story presents themes of cultural futility – both the futile attempts of the aristocracy to maintain its status and of the bourgeoisie to find meaning in its newfound materialism. In reflecting the socio-economic forces at work in Russia at the turn of the 20th century, including the rise of the middle class after the abolition of serfdom in the mid-19th century and the sinking of the aristocracy, the play reflects forces at work around the globe in that period.

Sinead Cusack, Anna Massey, Patricia Routledge, Andrew Sachs, and Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies star in this 1974 BBC Radio Full-Cast production of Chekhov's classic play. (Translation by Richard Cottrell.) Madame Ranyevskaya and her daughter Anya have returned home from Paris to discover that their family estate - which includes their beloved cherry orchard - has to be sold to cover the family's debts. They believe a miracle can save their orchard. But will their stubborn pride and fond, childhood memories be enough? Chekhov's tragic-comedy is about the passing of an era and is a timeless study of a Russian aristocratic family desperately clinging to the past. Among the star cast in this 1974 production are Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, Sinead Cusack, Anna Massey, Patricia Routledge, and Andrew Sachs. The Classic Radio Theatre series presents notable radio productions of much-loved plays by some of the most renowned playwrights and starring some of our finest actors.

Inspired by experiences in Chekhov's own life, Cherry Orchard follows life of an aristocratic Russian woman and her family as they return to the family's estate. Written as a comedy and containing elements of farce, Stanislavski directed the play as a tragedy in Moscow. Since this initial production, many prominent directors of the world continue to stage this play, each interpreting the work differently.

"Oh, the trees! Nothing but white and green as far as you can see - remember, Lyuba? Oh my lovely childhood. Waking up to happiness, looking out at blossom and trees and there they are - the same trees, the same blossom - after cruel winter, warmth and light and feeling! In his masterpiece The Cherry Orchard, Chekhov maintains an exquisite balance between elegiac celebration of the romance of the past, as embodied in the cherry orchard in full bloom, and the awesome prescience of what is so soon to overwhelm Russia - revolution. The themes are majestic, and yet at the centre of the play is Ranevskaya, a tragic woman who lacks adroitness for survival in a changing world but who has one asset: a capacity for love. It is her solution - and Chekhov's. This new version of The Cherry Orchard by Pam Gems opened at the Crucible, Sheffield in March 2007."

Tom Murphy's Irish vernacular adaptation of Chekhov's most popular play allows us to re-imagine the events in the last days of Anglo-Irish colonialism, giving The Cherry Orchard a vivid new life within our own history and social consciousness.Tom Murphy is an award-winning Irish playwright whose work includes The Sanctuary, Bailegangaire, and The Wake,