The Cherry Orchard
PREMIERE 29/01/2008
Schaubühne Berlin
»It is the bewilderment of the postmodern-Marxist-anticolonial-feminist left that Richter takes up here. No one knows what to do, yet everyone talks about it. And—praise be for that—the director does not exempt himself from this bewilderment.«
»It is the bewilderment of the postmodern-Marxist-anticolonial-feminist left that Richter takes up here. No one knows what to do, yet everyone talks about it. And—praise be for that—the director does not exempt himself from this bewilderment.«
»It is the bewilderment of the postmodern-Marxist-anticolonial-feminist left that Richter takes up here. No one knows what to do, yet everyone talks about it. And—praise be for that—the director does not exempt himself from this bewilderment.«
Liubov Ranyevskaya is completely bankrupt. Having just returned from Paris, she faces the forced auction of her beloved cherry orchard. The businessman Lopakhin suggests cutting down the orchard and parcelling down the land out for the development of summer homes, avoiding ruin by making lots of money. But Ranyevskaya, who is mired in her memories, and her affable brother Gayev, who completely lacks coping skills, simply cannot imagine transforming the playground of their youth, and of their current sleepy community, into a profit-hungry venture. The family celebrates one last time with an extravagant party while Lopakhin auctions the land with the orchard, buying it all himself. The family is forced to leave while the thuds of axes are heard; Lopakhin’s workers have arrived and begin cutting down the orchard.
Director // Falk Richter
Stage design // Katrin Hoffmann
Costume design // Marysol Del Castillo
Music // Paul Lemp
Dramaturgy // Jens Hillje
Lighting design // Carsten Sander
With // Bibiana Beglau, Elzemarieke De Vos, Eva Meckbach, Kay Bartholomäus Schulze, Bruno Cathomas, Mark Waschke, Steffi Kühnert, Erhard Marggraf, Stefan Stern