THE CHERRY ORCHARD Classic Radio Theatre Series

Madame Ranyevskaya and her daughter, Anya, have returned to Russia from Paris to find their estate caught in a swiftly changing world. First performed in Moscow in 1904, Chekhov’s dramatization of the collapse of the Russian aristocracy is a cornerstone of modern literature. In this 1974 BBC classic, British radio acting styles meet the classic stage, and the result may sound a bit stuffy to contemporary ears. No matter how Russian the names and phrases may be, they are spoken with decidedly upper-crust British accents. Still one can almost see the characters sitting in period costumes in the drawing room. Like many of the world’s finest works, THE CHERRY ORCHARD, with its timeless dialogue and images, adapts well to audio theater. B.P. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2011]