The Cherry Orchard

Although the plays by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov were written at the turn of the 19^th and 20^th century, the thrilling dialogues between theatre makers and audiences have been stirring even a hundred years later. It is mainly because Chekhov´s characters plastically depict different types of human natures, attitudes and acts. Equally important is also the political situation of the environment which often influences their actions. Nevertheless, the period itself never plays as important role as the psychological analyses of human lives.

Also in Slovakia, The Cherry Orchard has had quite an interesting staging tradition. The most successful were productions directed by Ľubomír Vajdička (1979) and Vladimír Strnisko (1984). Each of these productions originally accentuated the human extent of Chekhov´s characters, but both of them clearly reacted to the social climate of the then society.

Our present offers different social co-ordinates to the interpretation of The Cherry Orchard. It is mostly the impetuousness of new businessmen who ruin everything valuable in order to reach their money-making interests. Nitra´s Lopakhin is a successful entrepreneur. Yet, more than in his business, he is interested in is climbing up a social ladder – by purchasing the orchard of Madame Ranevskaya, he could obtain the “ticket” to the higher society. The main character is played by an actor of the Ukrainian origin (Jevgenij Libezňuk, a member of the Alexander Duchnovič Theatre in Prešov) and that gives the production a surprisingly contemporary effect.

Svetozár Sprušanský directs The Cherry Orchard with a fine hand. He leads the actors to as if plain and economical gestures. The concentrated creations of the actors and extreme levels of expressions are combined with the coolness in relationships between the characters, the traditional emotionality is moved beyond the border of the kitsch and the crafty entrepreneur intentions are given a freezing “eastern” accent. As if the time has stopped in the Ranevskaya family. Everything just passes by in the lethargy of the gloomy tranquillity, while inside each of the characters there are pulsing emotions and sensations. Nitra´s production of The Cherry Orchard is a work in which own, original interpretation is connected with mature and modern acting. The modernity of the production is completed by the uniquely eclectic music, costumes and stirring sound. So far, The Cherry Orchard is the last from Chekhov´s serie works directed by Svetozár Sprušanský.
Oleg Dlouhý