Following their outstanding performances in Hamlet, Sean Mathias’ company will be joined by Martin Shaw and Robert Daws, to perform Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece – The Cherry Orchard.
The Cherry Orchard is a magnificent comedy drama about a family on the edge of ruin. Madame Ranevskaya has come home to her family estate after a five-year absence, and the cherry orchard is just as magnificent as ever, but debts are beginning to pile up and a significant change is looming…
Led by Francesca Annis in the role of Ranevskaya, the 15-strong season company will perform Martin Sherman’s adaptation which captures the “contemporary feel of the original”, under the directorship of Sean Mathias.
Martin Shaw will be joining the company in the role of Lopakhin, along with Robert Daws who will play Pishchik.
Tickets start at just £25 with discounts available for NHS workers and students. The staging of the season has been designed to offer the unique experience of being up-close and immersed in the performance via Shakespearean wooden bleacher seats on either side of the stage.
The Cherry Orchard runs from Fri 01 October – Sat 13 November 2021
Hamlet
Performance Dates: Friday 01 October – Saturday 13 November
Show Times: 7.30PM Mon – Sat, 2:30pm Thu & Sat
Accessible performances: Thurs 21st October 2:30pm Audio Described & 7:30pm BSL Signed, Thurs 4th November 2:30pm BSL Signed.
Ticket Prices: £25 - £75
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Ian McKellen made his long overdue debut at Theatre Royal Windsor in 2019 in his acclaimed solo show. He was heralded that year as the most important actor in British theatre. Over the years he has worked with Sean Mathias consistently, most recently in WAITING AND GODOT and NO MAN’S LAND with another friend, Patrick Stewart. Mathias directed him as Uncle Vanya at the National Theatre and is looking forward to a further Chekhov journey. McKellen’s performances in Shakespeare are legendary, from Macbeth with Judi Dench to his film of RICHARD III with Maggie Smith. He played Hamlet on tour and in the West End nearly fifty years ago before reprising the role in this season.
Martin Shaw star of stage and screen, trained at LAMDA, before then serving the traditional apprenticeship in Repertory at Hornchurch and Bristol Old Vic. His illustrious stage career includes Tony and Olivier nominations, Best Actor Drama Desk award for his role as Lord Goring in An Ideal Husband on Broadway, multiple west end productions including The Battle of Shrivings alongside John Gielgud, A Streetcar Named Desire, Teeth ‘n Smiles alongside Helen Mirren, The Country Girl, A Man for All Seasons, Twelve Angry Men and Hobsons Choice. His film and TV credits include Roman Polanski’s Macbeth, The Professionals, Cream in my Coffee, and perhaps his best-known roles in the iconic Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently which came to an end after 8 incredible seasons in 2017.
Sean Mathias is a leading British theatre and film director and writer with numerous awards to his name including the Evening Standard Theatre Award, WhatsOnStage Award, the Critics’ Circle Theatre Award, a Fringe First at Edinburgh, and the Prix de la Jeunesse at Cannes. In 2009/10 Sean was the Artistic Director of Theatre Royal Haymarket where his legendary production of Waiting for Godot starring Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, and Simon Callow, played two seasons, as well as touring the UK and internationally. In 2013 Sean directed and co-produced
Beckett’s Godot and Pinter’s No Man’s Land in rep on Broadway. His production of No Man’s Land, starring Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, was the highest grossing play in the history of Wyndham's Theatre. His association with Bill Kenwright started with his revolutionary production of Design for Living starring Rachel Weisz.
Bill Kenwright’s estimated 500 productions include West End successes Jessica Lange in A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie and Long Day’s Journey into Night; Judi Dench in Filomena, Hay Fever and The Gift of the Gorgon (all directed by Sir Peter Hall); Rufus Norris’ Festen and Cabaret; The Wizard of Oz (Palladium); Joseph (Adelphi and New London); Evita (Dominion); and the Windrush musical The Big Life (Lyric Theatre). Broadway highlights include: Dancing At Lughnasa, Medea, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Wilde’s An Ideal Husband, Théâtre de Complicite’s The Chairs (multiple Tony Awards). Blood Brothers, which he also directed, ran for three years on Broadway (Music Box) and 24 years in the West End (Phoenix).
CREATIVE TEAM
Director: Sean Mathias; Set Designer: Lee Newby; Lighting Designer: Nick Richings; Composer and Sound Designer: Adam Cork; Costume Designer: Loren Elstein
