The Cherry Orchard - Anton Chekhov

A widow and landowner, Ranevskaya, returns to her estate after a long stay abroad. For years she has lived beyond her means and accumulated enormous debts. Now she must part with her property. She must lose the blooming cherry orchard, which awakens memories of her childhood - happier times. Lopakhin, who has risen from the humblest circumstances to become a wealthy merchant, proposes cutting down the trees and building summer houses for tourists on the vast estate. But Ranevskaya refuses to agree. She is attached to her property, which for generations has been a symbol of her social standing.

Chekhov's final play premiered in 1904. In Russia at that time, the signs of the dying world of the nobility were unmistakable, yet answers to the question of how to live tomorrow remained profoundly uncertain.

With great sensitivity and subtle humour, Chekhov portrays the characters of his play during this turning point. His protagonists are recognizable to us - with their fears of loss and loneliness, their yearnings and risky plans. Only the power of money emerges as a constant, resilient force.