The Cherry Orchard – ETT / The Yard Theatre, London

A review of The Cherry Orchard. A new version at the Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick sees Chekhov’s tale in an intergalactic, South Asian setting, exposing the currents of universality and specificity in both.

The Cherry Orchard

Often times, all it takes to get me interested in something is a hook. On this occasion, I was intrigued as soon as I heard The Yard Theatre was going to have a Chekhov play set in space. It just seems (literal) worlds away from Chekhov’s Russia! How would the story map onto this new setting? What bearing would the change from Russian to South Asian characters have? I didn’t have answers to these questions (especially as I’d never previously seen or read The Cherry Orchard). So buying a ticket to find out for myself was almost inevitable.

If you, like me, are new to The Cherry Orchard, here is a quick synopsis. A woman returns to her family estate in the Russian countryside from Paris. It’s all gone wrong. Her illegitimate son died. The property is to be auctioned. She won’t listen to the well-intentioned advice offered her. Class and interpersonal tensions unfold as the changing social landscape of early 20th Century Russia plays out in miniature. The focal point for these differing opinions is a beloved and renowned cherry orchard. Is it for the pastoral delight of the few? The pragmatic use of the many?

Chekhov felt this play was a comedy (not so sure about his sense of humour…). Most productions since the original have played up both its tragic and comic elements. It was also Chekhov’s last play. It premiered in 1904, the same year in which the author and playwright died. So just how does this very Russian work translate to a brand new setting? Let us find out.

(Brown) Chekhov In Space

I am very grateful to The Yard Theatre for sending me an email in which Vinay Patel outlines his thought process in creating this new version of The Cherry Orchard. It made for very interesting and insightful reading. I’m only sorry I can’t seem to find it on The Yard’s website so I can link it here. This concept has been a long time in the making, and this section’s title comes from what was at one time the project’s working title.

In talking about his work on updating and transposing Chekhov, Patel articulates several things that I felt while watching it without quite putting my finger on them. The way that a Russian country house might not hold our interest today, for instance, whereas the idea of having to leave a spaceship that has protected multiple generations holds more imaginative weight. Or the fact that both Chekhov’s original and Patel’s new version have empathy for the privileged characters struggling to acknowledge a new day is dawning, while at the same time clearly articulating that the life they seek to protect has soured and decayed. Most importantly, Patel seeks to upend the “pernicious, widespread assumption” that stories with (in this case) Asian characters must justify their existence with a righteous purpose.

Hence (Brown) Chekhov in Space. In this version, the country house becomes a spaceship. Captain Prema Ramesh (Anjali Jay) has suffered similar hardships to the original Madame Ranevskaya. She and her family live a life of relative ease (only relative, as things onboard are clearly not great). While the majority of people have never even seen the stars from the windowless lower decks. Having left Earth behind centuries ago, they are fulfilling an ordained purpose to stay the course towards a new home. A possibly inhabitable planet, however, disrupts the status quo and causes deep-seated tensions to flare. Oh, and there’s a cherry orchard on board! But wouldn’t it be better parcelled out amongst the crew to ease their hardships?

Staging The Cherry Orchard In Space

So as I hope I’ve set out above, Vinay Patel’s The Cherry Orchard maps extraordinarily well onto the original. So well, in fact, that I don’t think I would care to see a more traditional version. But you may still have questions in your mind. Including ‘How would you create a realistic spaceship in a relatively small theatre?’.

Well, I’ve talked before about the infinite ability of theatre creatives to overcome problems that would stump me. This is no exception. Firstly, designer Rosie Elnile has built an efficient, clever, revolving set. Its central console (a character in its own right, voiced by Chandrika Chevli) and padded corridors perfectly evoke the spaceship setting. Elements of the set move to create different parts of the ship. Lewis den Hertog’s video design is also crucial to creating this failing intergalactic world.

The Cherry Orchard is furthermore brought to life by an outstanding ensemble cast. Jay as Captain Ramesh brings to life the character’s utter assurance that her way of life will continue, in the face of all evidence. Her arrogant gestures of charity to an increasingly disgruntled crew are uncomfortable, yet believable given what we now see in the world around us. She rejects all advice from Abinash (Maanuv Thiara), whose desire to be understood even while he plays a part in upending the status quo is palpable. My favourite performance, however, was Hari Mackinnon as robot servant Feroze. Like his counterpart in the original, Feroze physically embodies the decay of the world that is passing. Mackinnon is wonderfully endearing as a robot faithfully attempting to do his duty to his masters until his disintegrating programming will no longer allow it.

From an interest in what this new version of The Cherry Orchard could possibly be, I found myself swept up into its world. Again we find ourselves in a historic moment where it feels like a new world is coming, and the arts are one of the ways that we play out these anxieties. This is a production that is bold in vision, full of heart, and while it may not allay our concerns about the future that’s coming, at least we can take comfort in the universality of change, and that one way or another we will adapt, in the end.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 4/5

The Cherry Orchard on until 22 October 2022