Author: Anton Chechov
Translated by Frank Dwyer and Nicholas Saunders
Directed by Rosalind Ayres
Narrators: Full cast, Hector Elizondo, Marsha Mason
Playback 1 hr 44 m
Publisher L.A. Teatre Works
Genre: Play, Drama, Historical
First published 1903
Book description: Published to tie in with the world premiere at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin.
In Chekhov's tragi-comedy - perhaps his most popular play - the Gayev family is torn by powerful forces, forces rooted deep in history, and in the society around them. Their estate is hopelessly in debt: urged to cut down their beautiful cherry orchard and sell the land for holiday cottages, they struggle to act decisively. Tom Murphy's fine vernacular version allows us to re-imagine the events of the play in the last days of Anglo-Irish colonialism. It gives this great play vivid new life within our own history and social consciousness.
Review:
I have never seen the play, this is the first time I read any work by the author. It did not feel like I was missing anything so I'm going to say you do not need it and this one play can be read as a standalone.
This short story came across as witty, clever, and funny with sadness sprinkled in there. The Cherry Orchard is Chekhov’s last play, written in 1903, a year before he died of illness at the age 44. Apparently, he called it a comedy, but it’s more frequently interpreted as a tragedy, I leave it up to you, in my opinion, this is a satire and social commentary on Russian society at the time.
It's very short so I'm going to keep it vague. It starts with an aristocratic Russian landowner who returns to her family estate (everyone's favorite spot was the cherry orchard) just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage. She has been away living in France and is received with great flourish. Ranevskaya and her family clutch at the sentimental value in the orchard it is kind of hilarious and a bit annoying - they are a bit bothered with the knowledge that the estate will be lost unless they manage to pay it off. The deadline is almost upon them. They do get a lot of people coming to them to get money loans and they keep giving money away!
The new practical rich merchant Lopakhin (a son of a former servant in the household) proposes a valid economical solution of cutting the orchard down and (how plebeian) renting out the plots of land for summer villas. The family is scandalized and they just keep going back and forth in their remembrance instead of actually starting to do something to get themselves out of the hole.
This was used for the challenges:
Around the world: the author is from Russia
Translated work
Buzzwordathon: Falvors, Seasoning, and herbs
About the author:
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (Russian: Антон Павлович Чехов) was born in the small seaport of Taganrog, southern Russia, the son of a grocer. Chekhov's grandfather was a serf, who had bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught himself to read and write. Yevgenia Morozova, Chekhov's mother, was the daughter of a cloth merchant.
His early years were shadowed by his father's tyranny, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, which was open from five in the morning till midnight. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog (1867-68) and Taganrog grammar school (1868-79). The family was forced to move to Moscow following his father's bankruptcy. At the age of 16, Chekhov became independent and remained for some time alone in his native town, supporting himself through private tutoring.
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