The Cherry Orchard

This is one of the clearest productions by Philip Franks of a Chekhov play I have ever seen. It also moves at a very brisk pace through its two hours on the stage, there are no “longeurs” that I have often associated with English versions of Chekhov classics in the past. The set by Leslie Travers is deliberately minimal and interior scenes are depicted by a few pieces of furniture – the grey of the nursery in Act 1, the plush red of the ballroom in Act 2. There is almost a proscenium arch effect upstage under which the nursery furniture is stored under sheets in the final Act and under which the majority of the party takes place screened off by red drapes. This allows the majority of the stage to be used as thrust. The cherry orchard seems to be the audience.
The play opens with Michael Siberry as Lopakhin preparing the house and us for the return of Madam Ranyevskaya after her five year self imposed exile in Paris. He does so brilliantly and with verve and vigour. This was the real star performance of the evening for me. I totally believed in this complicated and complex self-made man. His triumphs and setbacks were achieved with energy and subtlety. It was a thrill to see Frank Finlay as Firs, the head valet, on the Chichester stage – one of the heroes of the early days of the National Theatre and a theatre icon. Like all great actors (Anthony Sher and Derek Jacobi spring to mind here) he isn’t a big man but his presence fills a stage. Unfortunately for me, Mr Finlay didn’t ever capture my heart as the old man and the famous final scene went for naught. I know the actor is probably of the same age as the character but in fact appeared too sound in limb and mind to achieve the collapse at the end.
Then entered Diana Rigg as Ranyevskaya. This actress is up there amongst my favourites with Barbra Streisand (read review on “Funny Girl” previously) so it was with great anticipation that I waited to see her performance. Last year I made the mistake of criticising Patrick Stewart’s Scottish thane because of his age and he went on to Tony nominations for best Actor on Broadway so that shows you how much I know! However I did find Miss Rigg too old for the part. Ranyevskaya’s five year self-imposed exile in Paris is prompted by the death of her seven year old son by drowning on this very estate. If he had lived, he would now be twelve years old, and though I do not wish to be ungallant I could not believe this Ranyevskaya was young enough to be the right age for child bearing a dozen years before. I must admit that the characterisation is spot on and Miss Rigg makes what can be a tiresome and silly woman believable and interesting, although the hand gestures are a little too repetitive for my liking.
William Gaunt as Gayev, the empty headed brother of Ranyevskaya, and John Nettleton, as the ever-penurious Simeonov-Pischik, provide excellent support in the parts I could see myself playing. Maureen Lipman is imperious as the German governess, Charlotta, and made sense for me of what is usually an enigmatic part. It needed someone of her stature to make it work. Young Charlotte Riley as the daughter Anya and the youngest person at stage is delightfully fresh and optimistic.
The star performance for me though came from Jemma Redgrave as Ranyevskaya’s adopted daughter. Varya is the sensible one, the one who keeps the estate going despite her mother’s profligacy, and the one who is feared by the older serfs and peasants as the enforcer. This is not the position she would wish to find herself in and her relationship with Lopakhin is the only chance of escape. Miss Redgrave captures magnificently the desperation of the character and her dissolution times in with that of the Cherry orchard itself. Her performance made me feel whereas for most of the production I admired.
I did feel the sound effect for the chopping in the cherry orchard in the final act fell short of being a powerful and affecting one, which rather sums up my feeling about the whole production. If you are a Chekhov fan or even if you are new to Chekhov, this is a production worth seeing for the clarity of the story telling and the sureness of the pace with which it is performed.