RSC ANNOUNCES FULL CASTING FOR THE CHERRY ORCHARD
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The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) today announces the full cast for Laura Wade’s The Cherry Orchard from the play by Anton Chekhov, directed by RSC Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey.
Joining previously announced Kenneth Branagh as Lopakhin, Helen Hunt as Madame Ranyevskaya and Bill Pullman as Gaev are Chumisa Dornford-May as Anya, Alfred Enoch as Trofimov, Esther Smith as Varya and Sophie Stone as Sharlotta.
The production will open in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon from Friday 10 July to Saturday 29 August, with press night on Tuesday 21 July.
Director and RSC Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey said: “What an absolute joy to be announcing our full cast for The Cherry Orchard, bringing together a stunning company of actors for Laura Wade’s vivid new version of Chekhov’s final play.
“Many of the cast are making their RSC debuts alongside Helen Hunt and Bill Pullman - Chumisa Dornford-May following her incredible performance in Into the Woods, Esther Smith whom I’ve long admired both on stage and on screen, and Sophie Stone, whose work I’ve loved since we first met at RADA.
“It’s also wonderful to welcome back Alfred Enoch following our recent collaborations on Henry V and Pericles. And of course, a privilege to be working with Kenneth Branagh, returning to the RSC after three decades. I can’t wait to dive in.”
This new version of Chekhov’s final play by Olivier Award-winning playwright Laura Wade (Posh, The Riot Club, Rivals) sees Wade reunited with RSC Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey following their critically acclaimed production of The Constant Wife, which premiered in the Swan Theatre last summer and the Olivier-Award winning Home, I’m Darling.
Alfred Enoch returns to the RSC following his recent success in Henry V and Pericles. His theatre credits include What A Carve Up!, The Picture of Dorian Gray, As You Like It at @sohoplace, Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare's Globe, Crave for Chichester Festival Theatre, Tree for the Young Vic and Manchester International Festival, Red at Wyndham’s Theatre, King Lear for Talawa Theatre Company and the Royal Exchange Theatre, Coriolanus at the Donmar Warehouse, and Timon of Athens and Antigone at the National Theatre.
His television credits include Run Away for Netflix, Miss Austen, Trust Me, Troy: Fall of a City, Sherlock and Broadchurch for BBC, The Couple Next Door for Channel 4, Foundation for Apple TV+, How To Get Away With Murder for ABC and Mount Pleasant for Sky. His film credits include The Critic, This Is Christmas, Executive Order, Tigers and the Harry Potter film series. His radio work includes Darkness, Anna Karenina, The Duino Elegies and The Kiss of the Spider Woman. He is also an Artistic Associate of the Young Vic.
Chumisa Dornford-May makes her RSC debut as Anya. Her theatre credits include Into the Woods at the Bridge Theatre, Here We Are at the National Theatre, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 at the Donmar Warehouse, for which she received a 2025 Laurence Olivier Awards nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, The Phantom of the Opera at His Majesty’s Theatre.
Other shows include The Addams Family – Musical in Concert at London Palladium, Evita at Curve Theatre, for which she won the 2024 UK Theatre Awards for Best Supporting Performance, and Aspects of Love at Lyric Theatre. Her workshop credits include Paris for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Fado for ATG Entertainment, Feral Monster for the National Theatre Studio and Martin Guerre at the Old Vic Theatre.
Esther Smith plays Varya in her RSC debut. Her previous television credits include Trying for Apple TV+, Cuckoo for BBC, Black Mirror: White Christmas for Netflix and Flack for Channel 4. Her theatre work includes Harry Potter & The Cursed Child for Sonia Friedman Productions, Marys Seacole at the Donmar Warehouse and NSFW at The Royal Court. Smith has also written Elephant for the BBC, directed by Nick Helm.
Sophie Stone joins the cast as Sharlotta in her RSC debut. Her theatre credits include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time for the National Theatre, As You Like It for Shakespeare’s Globe and Emilia in the West End. Her television work includes Doctor Who, The Crown, Shetland and The Chelsea Detective. Stone is Co-Founder of Deaf & Hearing Ensemble Theatre Company and was awarded Best Actress at the Clin d’Oeil Festival for her performance in Retreat.
The full company comprises: Rob Alexander-Adams (Passer By), Kenneth Branagh (Lopakhin), Chumisa Dornford-May (Anya), Michael Elwyn (Firs), Alfred Enoch (Trofimov), Amber Gadd (Dunyasha), Guy Henry (Pishchik), Helen Hunt (Ranyevskaya), Erin Siobhan Hutching (Offstage Understudy), Julian Moore-Cook (Yasha), Bill Pullman (Gaev), Andy Rush (Yepikhodov), Esther Smith (Varya) and Sophie Stone (Sharlotta).
Joining Tamara Harvey on the creative team are Writer, Laura Wade; Set & Costume Designer, Anna Fleischle; Lighting Designer, Aideen Malone; Composer, Laura Rossi; Sound Designer, Claire Windsor; Movement Director, Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster; Fight Director, Alex Payne; Musical Director, Tomek Pieczora and Casting Director, Charlotte Sutton CDG.
ENDS
For press enquiries, please contact: Bethany Arnold, bethany.arnold@rsc.org.uk
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LISTINGS
THE CHERRY ORCHARD
In a version by Laura Wade
From the play by Anton Chekhov
10 July – 29 August 2026
Press night: 21 July 2026
Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
Tickets from £15
Ranyevskaya and Lopakhin are giants at war over a cherished estate. Madame Ranyevskaya returns from five years in Paris to find her house crumbling under the weight of debt and memory and her beloved cherry orchard under threat. Attempting to mend her extravagance, Lopakhin, the son of a serf, has mortgaged the estate and now wants to sell it off.
Beyond the orchard, people are starving and the aristocracy is in decline. As auction day approaches the household begins to panic. In this collision of past and future, it’s dangerous to stand still when the world demands change.
RSC Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey directs Laura Wade’s vital new version of Anton Chekhov’s great final play, tragic and comic in equal measure, set in a world tilting towards revolution.
IMAGES
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NOTES TO EDITORS
The RSC is supported using public funding by Arts Council England
The work of the RSC is supported by the Culture Recovery Fund
The RSC is generously supported by RSC America
The work of the RSC is supported by Backstage Trust
With thanks to Season Supporter Charles Holloway OBE
The Cherry Orchard is supported by RSC Production Circle Supporters Marc and Rachel Polonsky and Susan Tomasky and Ronald J Ungvarsky
The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation
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