THE CHERRY ORCHARD
The Cherry Orchard has always been a great play, but this company elevate it further
a new and wonderfully fluid translation... the vodka flows, the music plays, the intrigue never stops
hovers exquisitely between cruelty, tenderness and knockabout humour
The tide of change is coming. Madam Ranyevskaya's liberal world of privilege and pleasure is beginning to show cracks, but she and her family live on in denial.
Lopakhin wants to rescue Ranyevskaya. The hard-working son of one of her family's serfs, his new-found wealth can offer shelter and security to the woman he has loved since boyhood, but it will come at a high price.
Meanwhile, revolution hangs in the air, the poor and hungry are pushing at the doors, and the tutor Trofimov predicts a tumultuous change for everybody.
Chekhov's final masterpiece is full of wild humour and piercing sadness in this fresh, funny and honest new translation by award-winning playwright Rory Mullarkey. A portrait of changing times, it maps the building tensions between the desperate longing to hold onto what is familiar and the restless lure of the new. A civilised and complacent culture is on the brink of collapse...
Michael Boyd, lauded former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, was a trainee director in Moscow at the start of his career, and only now directs his first Chekhov play. With a unique ‘in the round' design created by Tom Piper (designer of the poppy installation at the Tower of London in 2014), the theatre will be transformed into a full circle of seating allowing audiences to experience every part of this rich and rewarding masterpiece up-close and from every angle.
Kirsty Bushell (King Lear, Chichester Festival Theatre; Antigone, Barbican) and Jude Owusu (A Tale of Two Cities, Regent's Park; Julius Caesar, RSC) lead the ensemble in this vivid new production.
#CherryOrchard | #YearOfChange | @BristolOldVic | facebook.com/bristololdvic
A Bristol Old Vic and Royal Exchange Theatre co-production
Our Audio Described performance of The Cherry Orchard takes place on Sat 7 Apr. You can listen to the audio description notes here.
Upgrade your ticket
The Cherry Orchard cast members Verity and Rosy are both proud recipients of the Peter O'Toole Prize – a vital funded opportunity for Bristol Old Vic Theatre School graduates to be employed by Bristol Old Vic.
When purchasing your tickets, we invite you to upgrade your tickets for an additional £10 in support of this long and important tradition. As a thank-you, you will receive a limited-edition Peter O'Toole postcard and a pre-show glass of white wine (one of Peter's favourite tipples).
Proceeds from premium tickets will be used to support the future of the Peter O'Toole Prize.
Easter Weekend Opening Times
27 Mar 2018
The Cherry Orchard | Three minutes with Verity Blyth
7 Mar 2018
The Cherry Orchard | Three Minutes with Rosy McEwen
7 Mar 2018
The Cherry Orchard | Week Six
27 Feb 2018
The Cherry Orchard | Week Five
20 Feb 2018
The Cherry Orchard – Week Four
13 Feb 2018
The Cherry Orchard – Week Three
5 Feb 2018
The Cherry Orchard – The Photoshoot (or finding my cherries)
1 Feb 2018
The Cherry Orchard – Week Two
29 Jan 2018
The Cherry Orchard – Week One
23 Jan 2018
The translation is fresh and modern; the cast tight, energetic and refreshingly diverse.
every role, large or small, captivates
a thoroughly playful production
a thoroughgoing blend of outstanding talents
The cast is diverse and outstanding... Jude Owusu is especially compelling as Lopakhin
Languid Chekhov has long since disappeared, but few productions are as vital and speedy as this.
It all builds to a fuller, sharper Chekhovian portrait... thoroughly Russian
a vibrant production
Beautifully judged and lovingly restored
