Review-The Cherry Orchard-Hong Kong Rep
17-5-13
By: Stephanie Ip
Hong Kong Repertory’s staging for The Cherry Orchard must be applauded. The set of Anton Chekhov’s last play, designed by Siu Wai Man (stage design), Mandy Tam (costume design) and Leo Cheung (lighting design) has never looked prettier. From the nursery in the first Act, to the sunset lighting in the second Act and the Russian and French styled costumes, this production’s attention to detail yielded a result that was both visually stunning and poetic.
The director handled the large and complex cast well, and the strategic positioning of the characters was almost like a painting. As the two and a half hours unfolded, I found myself more mesmerized with set design than with the actual plot of the play.
Watching this play without knowing the story in advance proved a little tricky. The story was about a Russian aristocratic family whose members were too preoccupied with squandering their wealth and ideologies than tending to their estate and end up losing their beloved cherry orchard and family home to the son of a former serf.
Research tells me that the play’s theme was the effect social change has on people: the disappearance of a slavery system, the rise of the middle class, and the downfall of aristocracy. Hong Kong Rep portrayed that aspect well and I especially enjoyed the performance of Pang Hang Ying as Ranevskaya, the impoverished landowner who grieves for her dead son and exemplifies her love and generosity through spending; and the performance of Wong Wai Chi as Varya, Ranevskaya's responsible and over-serious adopted daughter who's in charge of the estate while her mother was in Paris.
Research also tells me Chekhov intended the play to be a farce, a comedy, and that he was furious when the premiere of the piece turned the script into a tragedy. Having read that, I had trouble deciding whether Hong Kong Rep went down the comedy route or the tragedy route. The play was certainly dramatic but I wouldn't go so far as calling it a tragedy. Did my heart go out to the Gayev family when they lost their cherry orchard? No. But was the play a farce? I wouldn't go so far as calling it that either. There were certainly amusing moments where the audience smiled, but nothing that brought more than a small chuckle.
Another trivial objection I have with the production is the surtitles. The surtitles need to be better. As a native Cantonese speaker, I had no trouble following the play but, had I not been, I would have had trouble following the plot just by reading the surtitles. For one, the surtitles were not entirely in sync. They weren’t entirely accurate either, especially when it came down to jokes that were based on Chinese puns.
But otherwise, Hong Kong Repertory never fails to impress. The Cherry Orchard is a classic drama. The cast is strong and the design is spectacular.
The Cherry Orchard will be playing at Hong Kong City Hall through May 26th. For more information, click here.
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