Der Kirschgarten [The Cherry Orchard]

Chekhov’s bankrupt Russian society ducks and dives in a gymnastic whirlwind in Karin Henkel’s production: the storm of change is looming and poised to flatten the old cherry orchard; but no-one can or wants to recognize the end which has been caused by their own debts. Instead they create more hot air themselves. Henkel’s characters are like acrobats, jugglers and clowns, sweeping their way through a circus ring whose black earth is burnt to a cinder, but on which they dance like a volcano. There is a great deal of bitter tragedy in this troupe’s nostalgic and escapist pursuit of amusement rather than the customary Chekhovian melancholy. These fun seekers party on until they lose consciousness. Their crashes are deeply sad and depressing. Lena Schwarz as the skittish disastrous woman-child Ranyevskaya and Charly Hübner as the shirt-sleeved visionary Lopachin need not fear comparison with their illustrious predecessors. With an excellent cast, Henkel achieves a thrillingly playful genuine interpretation of a classic, a rare achievement.

Vasco Boenisch