“The Cherry Orchard” by Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov, a doctor and ingenius short story writer and playwright, left his impeccable imprint on world dramaturgy with his unparalleled virtuosity in covering major dramas with thundering silence, and in profiling humans (that is, ourselves) exactly as they are: in the best times and in their worst times, with the things that make them laugh and the things that haunt them, naked amid the adventure of life.

“The Cherry Orchard” was first staged on 17 January 1904 at the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski. After a few months, Chekhov died of tuberculosis.

When Stanislavski read the play, he wrote to Chekhov: “I burst into tears while reading it, and couldn’t cease crying.” In turn, the writer responded: “My play is not a drama, but a comedy – at times a farce.

“The Cherry Orchard” premiered in Greece in 1939 by the Greek Art Theatre (Theatro Technis), under the direction of Karolos Koun. Numerous important stagings followed, both by state theaters and free theater groups.

Eimuntas Nekrošius, Anatoly Efros, Giorgio Strehler, Otomar Krejća, Stefan Pucher, Peter Brook: this is only a short list of leading European directors who dove into this Chekhovian masterpiece, thus signing some of their most significant work. The European repertoire was fortunate with the case of “The Cherry Orchard,” this treasured garden of the global theater production.

During the rehearsals for the staging of “The Seagull” at the Moscow Art Theatre, one of the actors suggested having frogs, crickets, and dogs heard from behind the stage. “What purpose would that serve?” asked Checkov, with a tone of discontent. “Making it real,” the actor responded. “Real, huh?,” Chekhov repeated laughing. Following a short pause, he said: “Stage is Art. There is a painting by Kramskoi, where faces are exquisitely painted. What would you say if we removed the painted nose from one of those faces, and then added a human nose? The nose would be real, but the painting would be ruined.”

Tuesday 28 April

After performance talk with Nikos Karathanos

Moderated by Grigoris Ioannidis, theater critic and assistant professor of Drama Studies, University of Athens