CityLife

The Orchard

The Orchard
Lowry Studio
May 5, 2010

Chekhov’s final masterpiece, The Cherry Orchard ends ominously with the first tree being felled as the family leave behind their estate - and the memories. But what might happen next?

This fresh adaptation of the play projects a development of summer cottages - and their sale at the prospectus stage. So, in this innovative site-specific Kolectiv Theatre UK production, the audience become prospective buyers, being shown round the old house and estate by an attractive saleswoman.

We are led in a crocodile upstairs and into the various rooms, passing characters from the play frozen in time, like waxworks. Then, like ghosts, they act out scenes  - and we’re into Chekhov proper.

It’s an intriguing concept, which sharpens up the central poignant theme of the play, so relevant today – the destruction of the old order to build for the future. After all, it is Lopachkin, the nouveau riche neighbour whose grandfather and father were serfs on the estate, who buys the place for development when Mme Ranevskaya, the landowner, can’t afford the upkeep.

The treatment is the brainchild of director Aleksandar “Sasha” Dundjerovic, who is also a Senior Lecturer in Drama at The University of Manchester. It has been developed from a Liverpool Capital of Culture 08 project and has won awards in theatre festivals in Romania, Serbia and Iran. But it is still work in progress.

The problem is adapting it to the venue, in this case the Lowry studio and adjoining spaces. Ideally, it needs to be performed in a large old house with a cherry orchard for the walkabout to be more effectively site-specific. But it is certainly a concept worth pursuing and the cast of 12 cope pretty well.

David Fenson is outstanding as Lopakhin, diffident yet resolute – and the scene where he can’t quite bring himself to propose to Varya, the landowner’s daughter, is beautifully judged.  Maureen Bryan’s portrayal of Mme Ranevskaya, from flamboyant femme fatale to a woman bemoaning the end of an era, is also impressive.

The production is an encouraging start to the Lowry Studio season, which promises  off-beat shows through the summer.

Until May 8, 2010. Tickets £10. Box office: 0843 208 6000. More information: info@thelowry.com or www.thelowry.com.