The Cherry Orchard

By Peter Gill and Anton Chekhov

First performed at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1904, directed by Konstantin Stanislavski, The Cherry Orchard remains a classic of the theatre. Completed less than a year before his death at the age of forty-four, Chekhov’s last ‘comedy’ still ranks supreme as a human tragedy of dispossession with audiences and actors alike. Peter Gill’s luminous version brings the psychological realism of Chekhov’s characters into sharp focus; fragile souls poised on the brink of happiness which never comes, or trapped in a void between the old world and the new.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Release date: Aug 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781783192656

Peter Gill

Dr. Peter Gill joined the Forensic Science Service (FSS) in 1982. He began his research into DNA in 1985, collaborating with Sir Alec Jeffreys of Leicester University. In the same year they published the first demonstration of the forensic application of DNA profiling. In 1987, Dr. Gill was given an award under the civil service inventor’s scheme for discovery of the preferential sperm DNA extraction technique and the development of associated forensic tests. He was employed as Senior Principal Research Scientist at the Forensic Science Service (FSS). Currently, he hold concurrent positions at Oslo University Hospital and the University of Oslo where he is Professor of Forensic Genetics. Romanovs In 1993-4, Dr. Gill was responsible for leading the team which confirmed the identity of the remains of the Romanov family, murdered in 1918, and also the subsequent investigation which disproved the claim of Anna Anderson to be the Duchess Anastasia (using tissue preserved in a paraffin wax block for several decades). This was an early example of an historical mystery that was solved by the analysis of very degraded and aged material, and was one of the first demonstrations of low-template DNA analysis. Low-template DNA In relation to the above, Dr. Gill was responsible for developing a routine casework-based ‘super-sensitive’ method of DNA profiling that was capable of analysing DNA profiles from a handful of cells. This method was originally known as low-copy-number (LCN) DNA profiling. Now it is known as Low template DNA profiling. New statistical methods and thinking were also developed to facilitate the new methods. National DNA database Dr. Gill was responsible for leading the team that developed the first multiplex DNA systems to be used in a National DNA database anywhere in the world, and for the design of interpretation methods that are in current use (c.1995). Court reporting: Dr. Gill has been involved with giving evidence in several high profile (controversial) cases – including the Doheny / Adams appeals, and the Omagh bombing trial in the UK. Membership of scientific societies Currently, Dr. Gill is a member of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes and ex-chair of the ‘methods, analysis and interpretation sub-section’ He is chair of the International society for forensic genetics DNA commission on mixtures and has written a number of ISFG recommendations on low-template, mixture interpretation and evaluation of evidence that are highly cited. D. Gill is a member of the European DNA Profiling Group (EDNAP). He has published more than 200 papers in the international scientific literature which have been cited more than 20,000 times – many of these are collaborative papers under the auspices of ISFG, EDNAP and ENFSI. He is the recipient of the 2013 Scientific Prize of the International Society for Forensic Genetics. Affiliations and Expertise Forensic Genetics Research Group, Oslo University Hospital; Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Norwa

Reviews for The Cherry Orchard

[cinesnail88 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Chekhov is always someone I grapple with from time to time before deciding what I really think of the play. This was good, but mildly pointless. I didn't feel changed or moved by reading it, and I wonder about what seeing it would have changed. It certainly would have a different feel to it in production than it did in reading.

[leslie398 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I found it difficult to sympathize with any of the characters, even Lubov who had the most tragic background. As a tale of the decline of Russian nobility and rising of the former serfs into middle class, it was fairly effective but not entertaining. Perhaps I would like a stage production more...

[booksfordinner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great edition; it has a short but thorough bio of Chekhov, an intro with some basic interpretation, and great notes throughout based on letter the author wrote to some of the original productions' principals.

[lizpatanders · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having already read Chekhov's Ivanov, I founded myself comparing the two as a bit and enjoying this play more. It's about a family who is losing their wealth and needs to sell their cherry orchard, and I thought that was much more relatable than the story of Ivanov.The one thing that I really enjoyed about this play was the sense of memory that I got while I was reading it. I think Chekhov did a good job of showing why this place was important to the family. I got a sense that there was a lot of sorrow about losing the orchard, but in some ways he very much incorporated the hope for the future which I enjoyed. Overall I'd say it's a really good story about family and we hold certain places dear to us. My only complaint is that at times the names got a bit confusing.

[takeitorleaveit_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

saw Anette Benning and Alfred Molin star in this play. not Chekhov's best but good times.

[electrascaife · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nope.No likeable characters whatsoever, with a plot that I couldn't bring myself to care about at all. Gah.

[cait815 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I fell asleep twice while reading this play (and it's not that long). It felt so choppy, like there were 10 different conversations going on at the same time, none of them related. My interest picked up in the second half though, and I liked the ending. I'd love to experience this on stage and see if I came away with a better opinion of it.

[name99_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Another example of how I'm usually disappointed when I listen to something that other people consider great, but which does not a priori sound appealing.This probably reveals me as a philistine, but I just couldn't found much of value in this. We have a bunch of upper-class Russian twits who think the world owes them a living, who do absolutely nothing of value to anyone, not even things of abstract value like art or science, and who are bitterly disappointed when the tragedy that everyone has been warning them about for years finally arrives and no deus ex machina saves them. The only character in the play I had the remotest sympathy for was the student who tells them to their faces that they are parasites and that their day is over, not that his warnings are heeded.Maybe this play is viewed in the same way as Gone with the Wind nostalgia --- everyone who pines for this better simpler way of life assumes that for some reason they're going to be part of the aristrocracy in this alternate world, not one of the lower classes.

[mamzel_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Poor money management forces a family to sell its property including a large cherry orchard. Before closing the property, however, everyone returns to bid each other farewell. Comedic moments include a man who is totally obsessed with billiards and a bittersweet moment when they leave and lock in the old, faithful retainer. Job-lot!

[bookomaniac-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

De Kersentuin draait in wezen om de komst van het moderne, om verandering. Kracht van Tsjechov is montage, van gevoel naar gevoel, voor alles uitgesproken is, vb gebruik pauzes. Omstreden: drama of komedie, naturalistische of symbolische lectuur

[nialle-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This play is different every time I read it. When I was younger and still believed that my family's land would continue to be passed down the generations, it was tragic; when I had learned about the Japanese word "aware" it was beautiful; when I had learned something about how easily even clever women fall into traps and call them love, I wanted to believe somehow that Lyuba's generosity meant something anyway; as a young person of business I feared becoming Lopakhin with his, as it seemed to me, idealistic excuses for exploitation no different from those of the old aristocracy; after a few years of good fortune I looked less pityingly on old Pishtchik, whose attitude really isn't so absurd, though he may not be a gifted accountant.Through this reading, though, all I could think about was Firs saying "They knew some way in those days.... They've forgotten. Nobody remembers how to do it." And I look out the window at people who don't remember when shoes were supposed to last more than one season, lenders weren't allowed to charge 25%, growing food wasn't just a health craze but a normal way of life, books didn't cost $10 plus a special $180 decoder gizmo that would be outmoded in a year - and I think about all the people my age who have no idea how to run a business or why it would be desirable to own land - and I think it may not be the cherry orchard, but the Firs of this world, the ones who remember good sense and precaution, the ones who knew their ancestors' knowledge, we must fear most to lose.