The Cherry Orchard

Summary

1947 BBC production of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, with ‘one of the biggest dramatic casts ever assembled at Alexandra Palace’ and ‘at least five sets in the studio to portray Madame Ranevsky’s country estate’ (Radio Times, 14 March 1947, p. 33). The production was originally scheduled for 16 February but postponed because of the shutdown of the television service caused by the fuel crisis.

Theatre play

The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) [more information]

Play synopsis

The action takes place on the estate of Madame Ranevsky in the early part of the 20th century. The orchard of the title has belonged to the family for generations but unless someone takes vigorous action it will have to be sold. Wikipedia describes it thus: ‘The play concerns an aristocratic Russian woman and her family as they return to their family estate (which includes a large and well-known cherry orchard) just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage. While presented with options to save the estate, the family essentially does nothing and the play ends with the sale of the estate to the son of a former serf; the family leaves to the sound of the cherry orchard being cut down. The story presents themes of cultural futility - both the futile attempts of the aristocracy to maintain its status and of the bourgeoisie to find meaning in its newfound materialism. In reflecting the socio-economic forces at work in Russia at the turn of the 20th century, including the rise of the middle class after the abolition of serfdom in the mid-19th century and the sinking of the aristocracy, the play reflects forces at work around the globe in that period’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cherry_Orchard).

Production history

First staged in Moscow in 1903.

Date of transmission

Thursday 20 March 1947

Time

8.30-10.00pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Fred O’Donovan (1889-1952)

Playwright

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)

Translator

S. S. Koteliansky

Musician

Geoffrey Sisley (guitarist)

Sets / Settings

Barry Learoyd

Cast

Kyle Adair	Post Office Clerk
Shirley Bagrit	unnamed part
Theodore Bikel	unnamed part
Wilfrid Brambell	Stationmaster
Maria Britneva	Dounyasha
Sebastian Cabot	Pischik
Mary Clayton	unnamed part
Anthony Drake	Yepikhodov
Derek Elphinstone	Yasha
Harold Jamieson	unnamed part
Oliver Johnston	Gayev
Hildur Kalman	unnamed part
Alvar Kvaran	unnamed part
Thomas Kyle	unnamed part
Jack Livesey	Lopakhin
Rosemary Lomax	Charlotta
Gordon Phillott	Feers
Strowan Robertson	unnamed part
Jean Rolfe	unnamed part
John Scott	unnamed part
Robert Shaw	unnamed part
Ronald Sidney	Stranger
Marian Spencer	Madame Ranevsky
Irmgard Spoliansky	Anya
Margot Vanderburgh	Varya
Sidney Veltman	unnamed part
Anthony Verney	Trofimov
Paul Williamson	unnamed part

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Later transmissions

Repeat performance on Friday 21 March 1947 (3.05-4.35pm).

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

Russian drama

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 14 March 1947 (Magazine)

Linking notes

article, p. 33; listing, p. 36