Just Sell the Place and Move On!

By Jonathan Jones
Sunday, July 10, 2011

Oh Chekhov, why do we revere you so? As a fine example of twentieth century theatre, where nothing happens, I do suppose The Cherry Orchard succeeds, but what else is there to care about? As a departure from the melodrama of the preceding century, we can imagine that this could seem a breath of fresh air, but Ibsen’s work is so much more interesting to me. This new translation by Andrew Upton was indeed witty at times, and the actors were certainly having many amusing and interesting exchanges, but this could not save us from three hours of trying to sell off the damn orchard that no one seemed interested in letting go of. As per my review of Chicken Soup with Barley, I’m all for waving the socialist flag, but as our protagonist’s ties to the family orchard are essentially unmoved, I found the work to be on the wrong side of my political alignment. Despair at the turn of the century was indeed affecting; but despair at the hands of selling your family home for a small fortune and going off to Paris to rekindle your lost love was beyond that which I cared to invest my energies or sympathies.