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The Cherry Orchard is the last play written by Anton Chekhov. It is a comedy of manners and family traditions, set against the backdrop of a changing Russian society. It explores, amongst many themes, the dominance of property in the traditional Russian psyche. In order to preserve the family's position and its property Madame Ranyevskaya, her brother and daughters must face the facts and embrace change. They cannot bring themselves to accept this, and, inevitably, watch impotently as their family and their precious cherry orchard are destroyed.
The characters
Ranyevskaya : 45-55 : A landowner, owner of the cherry orchard. A hopeless romantic, she cannot bring herself to sell the orchard although she knows that the sale would solve the family's problems.
Anya her daughter: 17-23 : Like her mother, a romantic who sees only her probably unrequited love for Trofimov as her future.
Varia her stepdaughter : 23-28 : The adopted, pragmatic daughter of Ranyevskaya, she wants to marry Lopakhin, but her fussy, class-ridden attitudes scupper her plans.
Gayev : 50-60 : The senile brother of Ranyevskaya, he is even more hopeless at dealing with life's problems. A "pussycat".
Lopakhin a business man : 43-50 : A peasant made good, he is rich enough to buy the orchard where once his family were serfs. He loves Ranyevskaya, and tries to help her. She refuses his help, maybe because she sees herself as his mistress.
Trofimov a student: 20-32 : The eternal student, he represents the new idealism of the Bolshevik revolution. The tsarist regime betrayed him, and, through his dreams of the "perfect system" he hopes to change the world.
Simeonov-Pischik : 60-ish : A traditional, old-fashioned landowner who is left without a rouble, probably because of past excesses. A silly old fool.
Charlotta lvanova : 40-45 : Ranyevskaya's constant companion, she is a weird character, an eccentric who performs silly magic tricks at the drop of a hat.
Dunyasha :18-24 : A servant, faithful to Ranyevskaya. She is desperate to fall in love - either with Yepikhodov or with Yasha.
Firs : 80-ish : The old retainer, he lives completely in the past when "things were better". Despite his age and senility, he serves his mistress faithfully to the end.
Yepikhodov : 28-40 : The estate clerk, a bureaucrat and an accident-prone fuss-pot. He is in love with Dunyasha.
Yasha : 22-30: A Bolshevik, he is the symbol of the Russia to come. He is cocky, cruel and self-centred.
Read-through: Wednesday 20 August 8pm.
Auditions: Sunday 7 September 6pm Monday 8 September 8pm.
Performance Dates: Tuesday 11 - Saturday 15 November.
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Read-through/Auditions: The Cherry Orchard
