The Cherry Orchard

 The Cherry Orchard
Donmar Warehouse
St. Ann’s Warehouse
April 19, 2025

Photo courtesy of Dunmar Warehouse
& St. Ann's Warehouse

The Dunmar Warehouse production of The Cherry Orchard is astonishing.  This adaptation, written and directed by Benedict Andrews, turns Anton Chekhov's classic into an emotionally engaging experience.  The stage is bare.  The floor and walls are richly carpeted.  The characters, while drowning in their own inability to take action to move their lives forward, are crisp, alive, and empathetic.

Liubov Ranevskaya Andreevna (played by Nina Hoss) returns home to her beloved Russia after years of living in Paris.  She fled in grief after her young son drowned in the lake on the family property.  The entire estate, including the surrounding cherry orchard, is now being sold to pay the debt.  Yermolai Lopakhin (played by Adeel Akhtar), whose father and grandfather were servants for the Andreevna family, suggests they cut down the cherry orchard and divide up the land.  They can build homes and rent the properties.  He assures Liubov that the bank will give them a loan for this endeavor, which will allow them to maintain their beloved family home.  She will have none of it.  Her brother, Leonid (played by Michael Gould), asks their wealthy aunt for a loan, but it is not enough.  Lopakhin outbids every offer on the property, leaving the family homeless and with no other choice but to move on.   

Adeel Akhtar as Yermolai Lopakhim
Photo courteys of Donmar Warehouse & St. Ann's Warehouse

Benedict Andrews makes bold choices in the development of this adaptation.  There is a passionate speech given by the liberal tutor, Pyotr Trofimov Sergeevich (played by Daniel Monks), that focuses on the takeover by the oligarchs, who have no concern for the working class.  Mr. Monks fervently delivers this monologue, which directly addresses the political situation that is presently out of control in our country.  In Chekhov’s original work, the table turns on the caste system, as the economic circumstances of the characters shift.  Money rules, and the power belongs to those who have more of it.  It is striking how the social conflict that Anton Chekhov wrote about in his play in 1903 Russia runs parallel to our present time.  

Nina Hoss & Sadie Soverall
as Liubov & Anya
Photo courtesy of Donmar Warehouse
& St. Ann's Warehouse

Mr. Andrews brilliantly utilizes the space, keeping the actors visibly present (seated in the audience) when not in a scene.  They are spoken about and physically referred to, keeping them connected to all the action of the play.  They fill the space as their ancestors inhabit the house and estate, exemplifying their sense of belonging. 

The cast is riveting.  The darkness that is ever-present in Chekhov’s work is there, yet it does not weigh down the action.  These actors bring a sense of optimism and hope to the bleakest of times.  When Anya (played by Sadie Soverall) and Varya (played by Marli Siu) miss the opportunity for marriage, they are disappointed but not broken.  These moments are genuine and endearing.  After the family loses their beloved cherry orchard and their home, they carry on.  They will not only survive, but they will also flourish and thrive.

The Cherry Orchard is playing at St. Ann’s Warehouse through April 27.  Get a ticket.  It is an amazing production, living up to the Dunmar Warehouse standard that we’ve experienced in the past at St. Ann’s Warehouse. 

Domenick Danza