The Cherry Orchard

Summary

BBC production of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.

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

Sunday 5 January 1958

Time

8.30-10.15pm

Series

Television World Theatre

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Harold Clayton

Playwright

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)

Translator

Constance Garnett

Musical Arrangements by

James Hartley

Designer

Fanny Taylor

Dances Arranged by

Elizabeth West

Cast

Paul Bogdan
Kay Clayton
George A. Cooper	A Vagrant
David Courtney
Rita Davies
Terry Dickinson
Anne Dimitrievitch
Ilona Ference	Charlotta Ivanovna
Lynne Furlong
Terence Greenidge
Alice Greenwood
Rosemary Gunner
Mark Hashfield
John Herrington
David Horne	Semyonov-Pishtchik
Walter Horsbrugh	The Station Master
Pauline Jameson	Varya
Colin Jeavons	Yasha
Ruth Kettlewell
Jospeh Levine
David Markham	Trofimov
Donald McCollum
William Mervyn	Gaev
Mike Morgan	Epihodov
Priscilla Ogier
Paul Rogers	Lopahin
Prunella Scales	Dunyasha
Harold Scott	Firs
Hilary Sesta
Josephine Stuart	Anya
Nora Swinburne	Madame Ranevsky
John Tucker
Diane Woolley

Additional details

Notes

This production is estimated to have been seen by 5.75 million viewers (source: ‘Cost to BBC of Competitive Television’, The Times, 13 March 1958, p. 14).

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

Russian drama

Print sources

Title

BBC Television: The Cherry Orchard (Newspaper review)

Reference

The Times, 6 January 1958, p. 3

Title

Cost to BBC of Competitive Television (Newspaper article)

Author/creator

Anonymous

Reference

The Times, 13 March 1958, p. 14

Title

Radio Times, 3 January 1958 (Magazine)

Linking notes

article and listing, pp. 4 and 11

Title

Second Play in World Theatre: The Cherry Orchard (Newspaper review)

Reference

The Manchester Guardian, 6 January 1958, p. 14