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 Kenneth Branagh as Lopakhin, Helen Hunt as Ranyevskaya and Bill Pullman as Gaev in 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.

For more information about the themes and content of this play, please see our content advisory page.

The Cherry Orchard is supported by RSC Production Circle Supporters Marc and Rachel Polonsky, Susan Tomasky and Ronald J Ungvarsky

New Work at the RSC is generously supported by Hawthornden Foundation and The Drue and H.J. Heinz II Charitable Trust

The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation

With thanks to Season Supporter Charles Holloway OBE