THE CHERRY ORCHARD. To 7 June.
Chichester.
THE CHERRY ORCHARD
by Anton Chekhov in a version by Mike Poulton.
Chichester Festival Theatre To 7 June 2008.
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Mat Thu |& Sat 2pm
Audio-described 29 May 2pm 30 May 6 June.
BSL Signed 5 June 2pm.
Runs 2hr 20min One interval.
TICKETS: 01243 781312.
www.cft.org.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 26 May.
The cherry-trees get chopped again. But here, it's hard to care.
Philip Franks has a strong track-record as a director. So it’s disappointing to find this Cherry Orchard such a bland experience. Admittedly, stakes are high; apart from the popular Shakespeares Chekhov’s final plays must be the most-produced classics in British theatre. So, quite good isn’t going to be good enough.
The staging is downright eccentric. The famous orchard, whose enforced sale would devastate Lyuba Ranyevskaya and her brother Gayev if they could concentrate on it longer than a moment, is represented by a single branch suspended in splendid isolation behind the house.
Yet characters stare towards the auditorium as the orchard’s out front; the ultimate chopping sounds come from our rear. Yet they’re heard not by people closest to the orchard, but those on the house’s far side.
This house, so beloved of the family, is here as attractive as a systems-built industrial estate unit. There’s minimal furniture (making things awkward for actors – what do you do on a big bare space except stand and deliver speeches, rather than talk naturally?). The required bookcase is tall and thin, filled with identical red volumes, as if predicting an ultimate fate as home to volumes of the Soviet telephone directory.
The greyness common to set and costumes is clearly significant. Maybe Franks wants to indicate Chekhov’s moving beyond realism. Or that these characters are ghosts fading from social history. But any such single statement varnishes over the play’s detail. Maybe that’s why it’s the fastest Cherry Orchard on record.
There’s some bland big-name acting, giving the impression of each person doing their best to survive in the space. Jemma Redgrave’s Varya does well; it’s the best part and being effective housekeeper gives her something to do. Michael Siberry mixes incredulous enjoyment of his wealth with frustration at Ranyevskaya’s indeterminacy. But his failed proposal to Varya has little of the tension the finest productions have reached.
John Nettleton movingly mixes the mundane and soulful in the drifting, indigent neighbour. The famous ‘”breaking string” sound is unusually evocative. But you shouldn’t have to recommend a Cherry Orchard on its Simeonov-Pishchik and a sound effect.
Lopakhin: Michael Siberry.
Dunyasha: Natalie Cassidy.
Yepikhodov: Paul Chahidi.
Firs: Frank Finlay.
Anya: Charlotte Riley.
Ranyevskaya: Diana Rigg.
Gayev: William Gaunt.
Varya: Jemma Redgrave.
Simeonov-Pishchik: John Nettleton.
Charlotta: Maureen Lipman.
Yasha: Oliver Kieran-Jones.
Trofimov: Simon Scardifield.
Passer-by: Christopher Mellows.
Stationmaster: John Davitt.
Musicians: Thomas Bowles, Jeff Moore, George Trebar.
Party Guests: Deborah Amor, Pratibha Castle, Peter Coxon, Adam House, Chris Lieurance, John Lieurance.
Charlotta’s Dog: Diva.
Director: Philip Franks.
Designer: Leslie Travers.
Lighting: Rick Fisher.
Sound: John Leonard.
Music: Matthew Scott.
Choreographer: Marguerite Porter.
Magic advisor: Tom Silburn.
Assistant director: Anna Ledwich.
Assistant designer: Alistair Turner.
2008-05-28 10:35:34