Helen Hunt plays Madame Ranyevskaya and Kenneth Branagh plays Lopakhin in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, directed by Tamara Harvey. The starry cast includes Bill Pullman as Gaev and Alfred Enoch as Trofimov, but the production lacks sparkle and emotional depth.
Disappointing lack of sparkle
Despite the big names, Harvey's production feels soft-edged and woolly in meaning. Laura Wade's reworking, based on a translation by Helen Rappaport, updates the language but does not bring out the play's charge around love and loss. The accents are inconsistent—Ranyevskaya and Gaev speak in American accents, while Lopakhin and Yasha (Julian Moore-Cook) are Northern Irish—and the point of this choice is unclear.
Highlights and low points
The production brings out farcical elements, with Michael Elwyn's doddering Firs a highlight. Esther Smith as Varya develops emotional dimensions in her yearning for Lopakhin. However, Branagh's Lopakhin is good-natured and lacks the sharp anger of Adeel Akhtar's performance in Benedict Andrews' 2017 version at the Donmar Warehouse. The most arresting moment is when Lopakhin reveals he owns the estate after the auction, but the rage quickly dissipates.
Design and sound
Anna Fleischle's set design features faded grandeur with chandeliers and lace coverings, and bare branches twined around the room gesture at the cherry orchard. The sound design is subtle, with birdsong and the grinding of trees being felled.
Political resonance lacking
Written in 1903, the play makes points about social discontent and the rising peasant class, but they do not resonate significantly in this production. Trofimov, played by Alfred Enoch as a likable prig, does not deliver the firebrand message. The stage is too bustling, lacking the Chekhovian languor and ennui. The production runs until 29 August at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon.
