"Frayn's translation, which strikes me as splendidly lucid and alive will be acted again and again" (New Statesman) In Chekhov's tragi-comedy - perhaps his most popular play - the Gayev family is torn by powerful forces deeply rooted in history and the society in which they live. Their estate is hopelessly in debt and when urged to cut down their beautiful cherry orchard and sell the land for holiday cottages, they are confronted by an impossible decision. "At the time when The Cherry Orchard was written, the years before the revolution of 1905, Chekhov considered revolution in Russia irreversible and desirable." (Melchinger: Anton Chekhov)
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Quintessentially Chekov:
This, Chekov's last play, is the story of Madame Ranyevskaya's family, which lost its wealth, and an estate that included a cherry orchard. The subtext carries the story and is about how not to deal with existentialist stasis -- a state of being immobilized by the fear of change, and the complexity of the denial that under lay this fear. It is this fear and the symbolism it invokes that makes the play universal in its depiction of human fear, suffering, and inability to address change; for at one time or... more info
Who is the translator?:
With hundreds of versions of The Cherry Orchard available, you would think that Amazon would have the sense to name the translator. I think this is the same version used by LA Theater Works in which case the translator would be Michael Frayn.
Checkhov for Dummies:
This is an abysmal production. To anyone outside of LA the accents will become tiresome (I'm so `stoopid'; in the `bairth'-house etc) and the translation and acting style make this play sound like an episode of a soap opera. The recording begins like so many audio books with an unnecessary spoken introduction - "The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov ...." (like if I was expecting Dolly Parton!). And to make matters worse, the announcer claims it is recorded before a live audience. It is patently not so, there... more info
On Chekhov's art:
Chekhov's plays work on many different levels. On the one it is the story of the characters' relationships to each other. Often in Chekhov there is disillusionment and disappointment, misunderstanding and desire unrealized. Often too the characters have ideas and dreams about themselves which simply do not find their justification in the world. But in all this there is always interspersed moments of tenderness and poignancy, of delicate feeling, perceptions of beauty.
On another level there are '... more info
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