LEV DODIN / MALY TEATR |
||
THE CHERRY ORCHARD |
||
|
“We are living, as the characters in The Cherry Orchard are living, in a transitory period. A great period of our life is disappearing, and new generations are coming with new hopes and new beliefs.
Today in Russia there is a part of society that looks to the past with profound nostalgia and this is a terrible sign of illness, and another part that wants to remember absolutely nothing. And this, too, is a sign of illness. We need to think of the future, but at the same time seek to understand the past, because there is nothing in the future without roots in the past.” Lev Dodin Anton Chekov, writing about his work The Cherry Orchard, said, “ I have not written a tragedy, but a comedy that at times touches on farce.” And it is in this spirit that Lev Dodin and the actors of his Maly Teatr have approached the work. At one point one of the characters actually falls head first into a small pool of water. |
This piece, considered by many to be Chekov’s greatest work, is the first of his works to be directed by Lev Dodin, who in the past worked mainly with plays, novels or texts by modern writers.
The set, designed by Eduard Kochergin, consists of a set of perpendicular mirror panels behind which trees are glimpsed as if in a museum. Throughout the course of the four acts of the play (which are played without intermission), the setting grows progressively sparer until the audience is left viewing a bare, skeletal house and a looming emptiness. A group of musicians playing live complement the talented acting ensemble, and in creating this very physical production Mr. Dodin includes a striking use of dance that gives the piece at times a disconcertingly dream-like quality. |
PRODUCTION DATES
Great Britain Tour 1994 London Manchester Glasgow Newcastle Nottingham Paris, France Odéon-Théatre de l’Europe 5 – 10 April 1994 Milan, Italy Piccolo Teatro 7 – 10 July 1998 |
