The Cherry Orchard at Actors' Shakespeare Project

Classics reborn

by Talman Fortune

The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov is a Russian drama about a family that owns an estate on a cherry orchard that will be put up for auction, along with other people they are acquainted with. This interpretation by the Actors’ Shakespeare Project was an interesting and modern take on the classic. In the play the main character, Lubov Andreyevna Ranyevskaya (Marya Lowry), grew up on the estate of the cherry orchard and doesn’t want it to be sold as is planned; she is too generous though and always gives her money away. Yermolai Lopakhin (Steven Barkhimer) is a peasant whose descendants were serfs who worked on the cherry orchard before the emancipation freed them and has become a wealthy businessman. He at first appears to be attempting to help Lubov keep the estate by giving her the idea of chopping down the cherry orchard to build summer cottages. However he eventually betrays them and buys the cherry orchard for himself.

When going into something in the genre “Russian drama” one would expect a very serious drama without any hint of humor. However, this take by the Actors’ Shakespeare Project portrayed much more casual and modern characters that were altered to be more relatable to people today but still capture the feelings of the original script. The director, Melia Bensussen, also translated the script which means she could make the play the way she wanted because she could interpret the script along with the actors in the ways she wanted instead of having to work with another persons translation. Both of these interpretations were very casual with the characters using more modern language to make it easier to understand and connect to. Along with the language, Bensussen also used many modern forms of comedy in her writing and directing, which made the serious story much more light hearted and funny.

The actors from the Actors’ Shakespeare Project performed Bensussen’s script with wonderful tact. Performing the comedic lines with the intended expressions and being capable of making the emotional and more serious plot scenes noticeable. The acting was phenomenal by most of the actors and the characteristics of their characters were very clear. Another interesting acting point in this performance was how well the relationships between the characters were established. These relationships were improved even more by the fantastic chemistry of the actors themselves who successfully portrayed the emotions that these characters were feeling.

The majority of the play takes place inside the estate on the cherry orchard, this correlated magnificently with the venue where the Actors’ Shakespeare Project decided to perform. This version of The Cherry Orchard was performed in a large room of an old manor. This room seemed to fit perfectly into the setting of the play and allowed for more emersion into the story. Along with the room fitting the setting of the ply, the actors would move around behind some audience members and up stairs at one end of the room which made the movement of the actors seem much more natural.

Overall this performance of The Cherry Orchard by the Actors’ Shakespeare Project was an interesting and modern take on a classic that was thoroughly entertaining. It is definitely worth seeing if you can appreciate this casual version of a Russian Drama.