The Orchard: quick links
You thought The Cherry Orchard was a play about a bunch of melancholy Russians paralysed by self-absorption and regret, right? Theatre Collective Pony Cam’s forensic dissection of the original play’s themes highlights modern day parallels and expands the focus.
What is valuable these days? Places with established history, nourishing the community; just how much profit can be made from the land once the previous buildings or creations are carelessly demolished? Is money the only driver of every part of life, to the exclusion of feelings, memories and human potential?
The Orchard: improvised
The excellent cast has clearly researched the implications of their concept thoroughly, and nothing of Chekov’s dialogue is used – remarkably, the whole evening is improvised based on a solid foundation of information about the themes.
At the beginning of the show, we are told that some audience members will be onstage throughout, in the background of the action, wordless extras as the fate of the orchard is decided; or allowed to unfold, through delay, indecision and inaction. They are active moving around the perimeter of the block of platforms in the centre.
The five cast members come and go from the platform, and each ‘beat’ of conversation, punctuated by a conveniently-to-hand drum, begins the same way: Hey, what are we going to do about the orchard?’ followed by random questions, non sequiturs, some very funny and tentative ideas about what to do with it, while doing and deciding nothing.
From time to time throughout, each of the five cast members stands on a (soap?)box with a microphone, and advises us of the brutal financial realities of maintaining a viable income, with inflation and labour costs making it harder to run a business, be it a farm, a theatre or anything in between; one modern parallel being the theatre we are sitting in, and by extension the very much at-risk life of Australian theatre in general. Costs go up, grabbing a share of the market is harder and harder to achieve, with what compromises along the way?
The Orchard: high-density housing
Is the only solution to go commercial, lowest common denominator, or highest bidder? Should the orchard be sold off for high-density housing – lots of income could be made short-term on the land razed of productive life. The original play talks about buying lottery tickets, repeated here as a cascade of Lotto Scratchies, thousands of dollars’ worth, which by the end have yielded less than $20 for the huge initial outlay – all for nothing.
Gradually, each performer arrives onstage wearing a fur jacket or coat, and hat – visible markers of wealth, success and exploitation. As the pace picks up, the strip of tickertape lighting across the back of the stage pumps out messages of doom and greed interspersed with relentless reports of rising temperatures; the soundtrack is electronic, a mesmerising rhythm pulsing in a simple dance while Claire Bird assails us with the horrors to come, especially returning to inheritance – what will the world’s children be left with, at the rate in which history, culture and human connection are erased?
The end is especially effective – the orchard has been sold, reduced to splinters with the relentless grind of the small log-splitter we watch decimating what was flourishing, beloved property. As in the play, the old family retainer is left behind, forgotten, alone, curled up awaiting his fate.
Read: Songs for a New World review: talent aplenty at Chapel off Chapel
Whilst most of the audience will be familiar with the ideas presented here, the work is still confronting in the harshness of economic realities, and the cumulative effect on our senses is stirring. This is an exhilarating, intelligent piece of theatre, precise and lethal in its aim.
The Orchard is at the Malthouse, Melbourne, until 16 August 2025.
