Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard is a captivating tale
of a Russian aristocratic household that comes face to face with
adversity.
Chekhov's final play, it was first performed and published in 1904. This well known drama hints at the social upheaval that was beginning in pre-revolutionary Russia. Though Chekhov insisted that the play was "a comedy, in places even a farce," audiences often find a touch of tragedy in the decline of the Ranevsky family.
Madame Ranevsky (Dench), a charming landowning aristocrat who has spent five years in Paris to escape the grief over her young son's death, returns to her Russian home ridden with debt.
She is obliged to decide hwo to dispose of her family's estate, with its beautiful and famous cherry orchard.
The course but wealthy merchant Ermolai Lopakim (Bill Paterson) suggests the Mme Ranevsky develop the land on which the orchard sits. Eventually Lopakim purchases the estate and proceeds with his plans for a housing development.
This merchant's buying of the precious piece of land, which is Mme Ranevsky's security as well as her dearest reminder of her dead son, portrays the changes in the Russian social structure that were emerging at that time - the moneyed middle class usurping the landed aristocracy.
As the unhappy Ranevskys leave the estate, the sound of saws can be heard in the orchard.
DAME JUDI DENCH
Awarded an Oscar in 1999 for her eight-minute performance as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998), Dame Judi has a long and impressive list of credits to her name.
Playing diverse roles such as Queen Victoria in the film Mrs. Brown (1997), the first female M in the James Bond films Golden Eye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World is Not Enough (1999), Esme in the Tony award-winning Broadway production, Amy's View (1999) and Arabella in Tea with Mussolini (1999), Dame Judi is a dramatic tour de force.
Born in December 1934 in York, England, her first stage appearance was as a snail in a play at her Quaker junior school.
From this inauspicious start, Dench went on to win a clutch of awards for her work. On stage, she was first acclaimed in 1960 as the Juliet for her generation in the famous and controversial Zeffirelli production at London's famous Old Vic theater. She made history in 1996 as the first person to win two Olivier awards for British theater for different roles ? Christine in Absolute Hell and Desiree in A Little Night Music.
Dame Judi's current projects include a movie, The Last of the Blonde Bombshells with Ian Holm and a new series of As Time Goes By. Dame Judi is married to fellow actor Michael Williams and has one daughter, Finty, also an actress, and a grandson, Sam.
The Cherry Orchard appeared on BBC America this week (4/22/01) and this article appeared on the BBC America website. Thanks to Jan M for sending it to me.