Photos: THE CHERRY ORCHARD in Rehearsal at the Royal Shakespeare Company

The Royal Shakespeare Company has released rehearsal images for the forthcoming production of The Cherry Orchard, in a version by Olivier Award-winning playwright Laura Wade from the play by Anton Chekhov, directed by RSC Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey.

The production stars Kenneth Branagh as Lopakhin, Helen Hunt as Madame Ranyevskaya and Bill Pullman as Gaev, alongside Chumisa Dornford-May as Anya, Alfred Enoch as Trofimov, Esther Smith as Varya and Sophie Stone as Sharlotta.

This new version of Chekhov’s final play sees Laura Wade reunited with 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.

The Cherry Orchard opens in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon from Friday 10 July to Saturday 29 August, with press night on Tuesday 21 July.

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, insists that the family must 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.

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 (Ensemble), Julian Moore-Cook (Yasha), Bill Pullman (Gaev), Andy Rush (Yepikhodov), Esther Smith (Varya) and Sophie Stone (Sharlotta).

Joining Tamara Harvey and Laura Wade on the creative team are 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.

Photo Credit: Johan Persson

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