The Cherry Orchard

by Anton Chekhov
adapted by Simon Stone

Esplanade Theatre, Singapore

Simon Stone brilliantly transplants Chekhov's iconic play to South Korea in this LG Arts Center production at the Esplanade, giving us a version of The Cherry Orchard that unfolds with the raucous energy of a K-drama while losing nothing of the text's profound humanity. 

The Russian aristocracy is here reinvented as a declining chaebol family in Seoul who find their generational business crumbling while an upstart from humble beginnings is only too keen to stake his claim upon the world. It's a sleek, cinematic production that's both beautiful to behold (architectural designer Saul Kim's set is a veritable work of art) while remaining alive to moments of pain and pleasure that seamlessly bleed into each other. 

The cast, headlined by veteran film actress Doyeon Jeon and Squid Game star Haesoo Park, are fantastic in their parts and bring an effortless charm that endears them to the audience. Much like in Bong Joon Ho's award-winning film Parasite, Stone excavates the class consciousness in Korean society to brilliant effect; the heiress has delusions of grandeur despite being destitute while the now-wealthy son of a chauffeur is beside himself for being able to own the grand house where his father once worked. 

Photo Credit: LG Arts Center

It's a tender, elegiac and beautifully observed production and my only niggle is the wordy, rapid fire surtitling which does not always make it clear which characters are speaking at a given time. Glad to see a superb Chekhov production in Singapore.

The Crystalwords score: 4/5