I was born here, my father and mother lived here and my grandfather before. I love this house - I am this house. If it really must be sold, then sell me with it.

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.

RSC Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey directs Kenneth Branagh as Lopakhin, Helen Hunt as Ranyevskaya and Bill Pullman as Gaev in Laura Wade's vital new version of Anton Chekhov's great final play, tragic and comic in equal measure, set in a world tilting towards revolution.

This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere production at Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon, in July 2026.