The Cherry Orchard

'Thrilling and refreshing... heartbreaking but also hilarious... frees Chekhov from the daintified amber in which he can be preserved'

* London Standard *

'Riveting... honours Chekhov's chamber music... rich in emotive detail'

* Telegraph *

'A persuasive portrait of a woman driven by her own whims and conceits. With financial disaster staring her in the face, she clings to her dreams'

* The Times *

'This Ranevskaya feels of our time... There is much humour here, albeit with moments of wistfulness, and the script is adept at drawing out the dithering ridiculousness of this entitled aristocratic set. There is an earthy, sweary frankness too in how the characters speak'

* Guardian *

'McPherson's script is salty and smart and, most laudably, never sounds like a translation... richly drawn characterisation... an emotionally intelligent production that renders a classic play alive and accessible, while still satisfying the most exacting of Chekhov enthusiasts'

* WhatsOnStage *

'Refreshing, clear and unfussy... Conor McPherson's faithful new adaptation sweeps through the familiar passages of Chekhov's tender tragicomedy like a crisp autumn breeze... his lucid take on the story of fading aristocracy glitters with moments of disarming vulnerability and deadpan humour that honours Chekhov's play while illuminating subtext, developing the dramatic potential of some relationships and alighting on unexpected interpretations of others... The atmosphere that develops is at once ghostly, fragile as cobwebs, and unexpectedly warm-hearted, full of bittersweet yearning... a gorgeous, delicate portrait of a generation paralysed by habitual comfort, poised before a moment of climactic social change'

* The Stage *

'Conor McPherson's translation is full of forthright, biting lines... never feels drawn-out or stodgy. This play is very, very funny, until it's not – until you realise that this estate has stolen untold lives for centuries, and these unlucky, lingering, lovable few must pay the price'

* Independent *

'McPherson cranks up both the bitter and the sweet as he massages the plot and dialogue for some big laughs... it's also a profoundly moving treatise on the impossibility of letting go of the past... another Rickson/McPherson Chekhov banger'

* Time Out *

'Conor McPherson's evocative new translation... timeless in its exploration of love and loss, family and faith, the lure of nostalgia and the explosive force of change'

* London Theat