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The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov.
Old library Theatre.
A Theatre company should be Judged by its products as well
as its process. Frontroom Theatre has displayed their intentions
and demonstrated imagination intelligence and courage with their
first production, Anton Chekhov's 'The Cherry Orchard'. This
production was handled with wit and pace, the main characters
of Ranyevskya ( Linda Turner), Gayev ( Mark Davies) and Lopakhin
( David Savage), produced a reel sense of crumbling grandeur
and the passing of the old system. This was only bettered by
their vocal attack of and relish for the text. There was a spirited
performance from Jason Zadrozny as the hypercritical political
Trofimov. More than just Trofimov's love interest in this production
was the staggering clarity of performance from Jo Stendall.
She seemed to be able to hold the hands of her irresponsible
family and grasp the excitement of the future. She played a
key and pivotal role as Anya in Paul Caputa's production. This
was a real display of control as far as the direction of the
production was concerned which was never overstated, but light
and airy, there seemed no doubt in the directors mind that this
was anything less than a comedy. I felt as though we had been
transported into a different world as the lives of the characters
and their secrets were unveiled. The comic relief was ably handled
by the trio of Yasha (Adrian Louch), Dunyasha (Mel Tatley),
and Yepihodov (John Tatley). Special mention needs to be made
of the ancient family retainer Firs. Steve O'Toole performed
this role with truth and belief, convincing me that the old
man would never crossover between nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
This company has started explosively, and if you get the chance
to see this exciting production you will not be disappointed.
Doug Clark.
The Ticket Web.
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