Mars Theatre Group Shanghai
The Cherry Orchard, Chekhov
A Chinese-language version of Chekhov's play with Chinese surtitles, performed by an exclusively Chinese cast.
Dates
THE CHERRY ORCHARD
Anton Chekhov
Four-act play (1904)
Rimas Tuminas | director
Jin Xing | Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya, landowner
Cast to be confirmed
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Approx. running time : 2h50 (Intermission included)
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Presented in Chinese, with French and English surtitles
About
The Cherry Orchard is the last work by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Premiered in 1904 at the Moscow Art Theatre, it is now considered one of the great classics of 20th-century theatre, translated into many languages and performed around the world. The version presented here is an adaptation by the recently deceased Lithuanian director Rimas Tuminas. Renowned for his sensitive and visually poetic interpretations of Chekhov, in 2024 he conceived this version of The Cherry Orchard with an exclusively Chinese cast. It premiered in Shanghai in August 2024 under the artistic direction of Jin Xing, who also plays the lead role. The plot recounts the return of a landowner to her family estate – famous for its vast cherry orchard – on the eve of its auction for debt. Deaf to the solutions proposed to save the property, she finally leaves it to be sold to a former peasant turned entrepreneur. The family drifts apart as the sound of trees being felled echoes in the background. Through this story, Chekhov explores the powerlessness of a declining nobility and the equally futile aspirations of an emerging bourgeoisie seeking meaning in its new-found prosperity. The play highlights the social and economic upheavals that marked Russia at the turn of the 20th century: the rise of the middle class after the abolition of serfdom and the erosion of aristocratic power.
Production étoiles d’Or Divertissements
Performance in Chinese with French and English surtitles
Dates
-
Approx. running time : 2h50 (Intermission included)
-
Presented in Chinese, with French and English surtitles