The Cherry Orchard, Keble O'Reilly Theatre
In February 2018, FourSevenTwo Productions presented Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, translated by Michael Frayn. Directed by Ross Moncrieff
Harry Clements plays Gayev in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard
Creative Team
Director - Ross Moncrieff
Producer - Amy Thompson
Assistant Director - Joel Stanley
Production Manager - Linette Chan
Set Designer - Niamh Calway
Lighting Designer - George Twinn
Lighting Assistant - Jake Adams
Sound Designer - Seb Dows-Miller
Sound Assistant - Joe Shailer
Costume Designer - Hanna Hoeiboe
Stage Manager - James Fellows
Marketing Manager - Alice Bate
Director of Photography - Devon Armstrong
Marketing Assistants - Tyron Surmon,
Caleb Barron, Tyron Surmon, Kitty Low
Cast
Mrs Ranevsky - Tara Kilcoyne
Trofimov - Chris Page, Cameron Forbes
Lopakhin - Jon Berry
Anya - Lara Deering
Varya - Alma Prelec
Gayev - Harry Clements
Yepikhodov - Tom Saer
Danyasha - Kayla Kim
Yasha - Gavin Fleming
Pischin - Ariel Levine
Charlotte - Conky Kampfner
Firs - Lee Simmonds
When Mrs Ranevsky returns to her ancestral home from Paris where she has been living since the death of her son, she in confronted by all the changes which have happened in her absence and the question of whether her beloved cherry orchard must be sold. In turn tragic and comedic, Chekhov examines love, loss, and the passing of time through the ever-present question of the fate of the family’s estate. Enhanced by stunning design and an atmospheric score of original live jazz music, this production is a compassionate exploration of the challenges of human interaction, both with each other and with the past.
Anton Chekhov’s final masterpiece portrays a country and family on the brink of social upheaval. Written in 1903, shortly before the Russian Revolution, this production reimagines the play in prohibition-era 1920s America: a period, like ours, on the cusp of great political change. Chekhov’s study of social tensions is given a new significance in the Jazz Age, which shares the original poignancy of sweeping economic transformation, reflected in generational divides between youthful hedonism and traditional conservatism.
Production Photography by Abbas Husain and Alice Taylor
Praise for The Cherry Orchard
"the atmosphere of the setting was not just inclusive but inescapable" - The Oxford Student