Image from the Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/oct/14/the-cherry-orchard-review-ian-mckellen-is-brilliantly-poignant-in-resonant-adaptation)
Actually on the stage with the national treasurer that is... Sir Ian McKellen. Well almost, had a wonderful though Globe theatre hard seat on stage to watch this adaptation of The Cherry Orchard by Chekov. It follows a Russian aristocratic family managing their debts, their neighbours and their servants and any one else who chooses to ramble into their house (and purse)....
Francesca Annis (in a velvet cherry red ensemble) returns from Paris to help her brother (Jenny Seagrove!) sort out the estate. Martin Shaw as a long-term friend and neighbour urges her to cut down the cherry trees and build holiday homes. Already mourning her lost son, she dreads the loss of her family estate too and the old ways - such as the cherry orchard, though they are already in steep and steady decline.
There are her two daughters (one older and one younger); a perennial student Tutor who unfortunately was tutoring the son when he drowned and is a stark reminder of the lost boy; Alis Wyn Davies is a maid constantly powdering her nose, seeking love and fleeing her would-be suitor and his squeaky boots (and frankly batty conversation). She hopes for compliments, admiration and better possibilities than the booted bore. Sir Ian is an aged, trembling servant and brings such dignity to a role with few words - portraying dementia with such care as he pursues conversations which haven't started or makes unfathomable comments. He is, until the end, treated with kindness and really makes us care about him as he falters around the stage.
Another neighbour is Robert Daws, who drinks too much, laughs heartily and seeks money at every opportunity, until he can finally pay them back due to geological discoveries on his estate! He gains the riches they are striving for.
Lighting up the performance is Alison Halstead as a wonderfully energetic entertainer who has attached herself to the family. Kezrena James brings a tragic element to the play as the older daughter who organises everything and waits for a proposal which never comes; it shows the unbelievable cruelty of women's lives. Missy Malek provides hope as she and the Tutor move forward to forge a new life of love, away from the estate and the orchard.... Francesca Annis is impossibly generous and struggles with her own guilt at pursuing an affair when married which led her to neglect her son and be absence when he drowned. She almost seems to be punishing herself, whilst exuding deep kindness towards her staff.
Lee Knight, ala Mr Burrow, appears charming and dashing but is out for all he can get - ripping off his employers; stealing and only thinking of when he can get to Paris; feigning love, but a complete liar! And yet, asks the play, should we blame him or any of them for wanting to get out?
And get out they do, very slowly, as their luggage and moveable possessions are assembled (though they'd have less battered cases than the ones on stage, trying to give their best impression to the world) and out they go. As it's time to go, Francesca Annis's character begins to notice and take in more and more of the house such as ceilings and to appreciate the orchard.
The cast sing moving and beautifully in English and Russian, giving a sense of scene and seasons changing. I'm not sure about Jenny Seagrove as the brother, although she does the role very well. The play does make you think about the social and economic impact of all the servants being left behind when the house closes. Poignantly and terribly Sir Ian is left behind. shut out and locked out, as everyone departs, and dies before us in the snow; (incredibly moving if you are on the same stage as him). It made me think what a social power and impact these great estates had - determining who was employed, where, who had work and who didn't, who got perks and who got paid, and the gap that was left when they closed.
Martin Shaw's accent also travelled North, heading to Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, America, India and even a bit of Wales before landing; (I'm not sure why this wasn't tweaked in rehearsals, it was all over the shop and he's not a ham actor!) But he did a tremendously red faced, spitty angry scene. Kerenza James's skirt hitching was too much! (She was in a hobble skirt cut short for most of it, so no need! Perhaps she was trying to suggest her character's need to do and rush, or perhaps longing for trousers if a proposal won't turn up.)
Really enjoyed my seat on the stage and seeing the props go in and out; the cast popping in and out, preparing to come on stage through the veranda doors or a freshly pressed skirt whisking past. It was wonderful to stand on the stage and get a sense of what it is like to act on it! Sir Ian was marvellous, but the rest of the play was not as sharp - but I think this is Chekov's issue, not the cast's. He gives us a ramble of characters and makes us feel for them, as well as get frustrated with them.
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