Theatre: The Cherry Orchard Welsh Update Of Chekhov An Engrossing Tale Of 1980s Class Conflict

The Cherry Orchard is set in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in 1982. Yes, that’s right. It’s a modern retelling of the original written by Anton Chekhov just before the first Russian revolution in 1905. And it’s brilliant.

- Scott Jones

Action revolves around an old manor house on the west Wales coast, home to farms, orchards, a wealthy family and the estate’s workers. But there’s trouble ahead. The bank is threatening repossession, forcing the family to find a solution or lose everything.

The supposed head of the English landowning family is Rainey, the perfect embodiment of her class. She is arrogant, lazy, with complete contempt for her staff, the poor, the Welsh, even her own family. She is forced to return from living it up at the Dorchester in London to address the crisis.