The Cherry Orchard
by Chekhov
9/10
I've never been to the National Theatre before, so this was a treat that also involved a 2 night stop in London, a watercolour exhibition at the Tate, Camden Markets and the British Museum. Aren't we lucky to have all these marvellous places?
The Cherry Orchard was excellent. Zoe Wanamaker played the lead role, but she didn't dominate the production, as big names often can (we saw Pete Postlethwaite in a Harold Pinter at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, and the audience kept applauding him inappropriately - it wasn't his fault, he was great). Zoe Wanamaker seems as though she might be a bit too petite and gentle to play a Russian, land-owning matriarch, but she made herself big, and sometimes small, on stage.
Best of all was the size of the stage (!!!) and the 4 sets which were mind-blowing and magnificent. We were there, in a Russian dacha, with society changing around us.
I've knocked a mark off because, even though I've seen the Cherry Orchard before, I got confused with all the people who suddenly appear at the beginning of the play - it's hard to grasp how they all relate to each other.
An added bonus, as we left the theatre, was some street theatre and magicians performing just outside.
I want to go to the National Theatre again.
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