The Cherry Orchard

Summary

1962 BBC production of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, recorded at Television Centre by the Royal Shakespeare Company during the season at the Aldwych Theatre, London.

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

Friday 13 April 1962

Time

9.25-11.30pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Theatre company

Royal Shakespeare Company

Credits

Director

Michael Elliott

Theatre Director

Michel Saint-Denis (1897-1971)

Playwright

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)

Adapted for Television by

Norman James

Adaptor of Script

John Gielgud ('version by’)

Composer

Brian Priestman

Designer

Abd’ Elkader Farrah

Cast

Peggy Ashcroft	Mme Ranevsky
Julian Battersby	Gardener
Sebastian Breaks	Peasant
David Buck	Yasha
Patsy Byrne	Dunyasha
Patience Collier	Charlotta
Judi Dench	Anya
Roy Dotrice	Firs
John Gielgud	Gaev
Gordon Gostelow	Passer-By
Paul Hardwick	Pishchik
Ian Holm	Trofimov
Peter Holmes	Coachman
Russell Hunter	Coachman
Narissa Knights	Stationmaster’s Wife
Gareth Morgan	Post Office Clerk
Cherry Morris	Peasant
George Murcell	Lopahin
Michael Murray	Government Official
Rosemary Mussell	Schoolmaster’s Wife
Ronald Scott-Dodd	Schoolmaster
Dorothy Tutin	Varya
William Wallis	Stationmaster
Michael Warchus	Stable Boy
Georgina Ward	Peasant
Patrick Wymark	Epihodov

Additional details

Origination

Recorded in studio

Play tags

Russian drama

Audiovisual sources

Title

The Cherry Orchard (BBC, 1962)

Archive

BBC Information and Archives [more information]

Address

White City
London
UK

Telephone

+44 (0)20 8008 2288

Website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/informationandarchives/

Access

BBC Information and Archives is not open to the public.

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 5 April 1962 (Magazine)

Linking notes

cover image of Gielgud; photograph and article on p. 55; listing on p. 57