The Cherry Orchard Reviews Are In!
A legendary playwright, an award-winning creative team and a British acting icon
What more could you want? Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard comes to London in a brand-new adaptation by Conor McPherson (The Weir, The Girl From The North Country), directed by Ian Rickson (Jerusalem, Uncle Vanya), and starring five-time BAFTA Award winner Kristin Scott Thomas as Lyubov Ranevskaya.
When Madame Ranevskaya returns from Paris to her beloved family estate, she faces the devastating prospect of losing the house and its cherished cherry orchard to auction. But with generations of memories tied to the land, letting go is easier said than done. As the deadline approaches, her family finds itself caught between nostalgia, uncertainty and a future none of them seems quite ready to face.
The Cherry Orchard explores what happens when the world moves on before we're ready to follow. But does this new production capture the heart of Chekhov's final masterpiece?
Let's see what the critics had to say...
The Cherry Orchard Critic Reviews
"Scott Thomas looks the part as the matriarch, wearing an emotional armour. Her performance is full of subtle inflection, biting her nails with worry, switching on the smiles and warmth as required. When she speaks of the death of her young son, drowned in the estate's lake, you see her guilt and sadness being quickly hidden away." The Guardian
"Kristin Scott Thomas is remarkable in this gorgeous, elegiac production." London Theatre
"This is hardly a problem, just an oddity in what is ultimately another Rickson/McPherson Chekhov banger (following 2020's Uncle Vanya). There are some very funny performances. But really it's the more painful emotions that linger in the splendid central turns from Scott Thomas and Mangan, the sense of people too in love with a perfect past to ever truly embrace an imperfect future." Time Out
"Kristin Scott Thomas is hypnotic in a riveting Cherry Orchard. The actress plays agonised heroine Ranevskaya with rich emotive detail, supported by glorious performances across the board." The Telegraph
"Superlative performances and director Ian Rickson's masterful grasp of humour elevate the latest revival of the Russian classic." The Independent
