The Cherry Orchard: Modern Plays

This translation of Checkov's tragi-comic play - perhaps his most popular - is being published to coincide with a production at the National Theatre, starring Vanessa Regrave.

Simon Stephens's version of Ibsen's A Doll's House, also commissioned by the Young Vic, was described as 'agile. . . quick . . . clear, and full of subtle touches' (Guardian); 'sensitive and spirited' (Daily Telegraph); 'supple' (Evening Standard); and 'astute . . . often savagely funny' (Metro)

Now Chekhov's final and finest play, from 1903, is the latest twentieth-century masterpiece to get a good going-over. Actually, make that an excellent going-over . . . It's been pruned, yes, but this grimly witty tragicomedy is unmistakably Chekhov . . . and it teems with life.
Stephens [has] refocussed Chekhov's play into a potent study in feminine - rather than societal - collapse.
Chekhov was superb on the destructive impact of people who take no heed: who turn other people's lives upside down (Uncle Vanya) or blithely ignore warnings (Cherry Orchard). He was superb too on those who can see the dangers, but are powerless to do anything. Little wonder then, that these great plays feel so painfully pertinent now to audiences keenly aware of intractable global problems. Little wonder either that contemporary theatre-makers seek to meet his works in the spirit of innovation.
If Chekhov were planning a revenant visit to see how his work fares in England in the 21 century, this would be an opportune moment to come.
Revivals of classic plays are the lifeblood of theatre. They are the way in which the art form tests the reputation, relevance and validity of the masterpieces of the past.