The Apple Orchard by John Fletcher
Adapted from Chekhov's 'The Cherry Orchard'
Directed at Pebble Mill by Nigel Bryant
Broadcast March 3, 1993 - BBC Radio 3
Length 90 minutes
Recording available at British Library Audio Collection and at Radio Archive:
http://RadioArchive.cc/index.php
Summary[]
Chekhov's 'Cherry Orchard' updated and moved to a post-apocalyptic Somerset with the humour which Russians say is usually missing from English translations of Chekhov.
Cast[]
- Harold - Steven Tomlin
- Sam - Tamsin Greig
- Isabelle - Ann Firbank
- Jonathon - Brett Usher
- Vicar - Geoffrey Banks
- Sam's Radio Contact - Joanna Miles
Critical Reception[]
"This tragi-comedy which upends the famous Russian cherry orchard and relocates it in a valley in Somerset, is a work of a writer the mention of whose name should be sufficient to set as many lights flashing in your mind as there are in the Blackpool Illuminations. John Fletcher won a 1990 Giles Cooper award with his fantasy Death and the Tango, one of the most astounding new plays ever broadcast on Radio 3…"[1]
"John Fletcher’s reweaving of Chekhov, with a setting in Somerset and a wry inversion of themes and values. This playwright is much prized by the radio drama department for his satiric gifts and power of descant inventively without seeming to preach."[2]
References[]
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