The Orchard

Six actors are brought together in a country house over one weekend to put on an improvised version of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. As old friends they are excited to see each other and begin to explore the house and talk about old times. They chat about the play and what they feel needs to be done during this weekend but as they cast themselves as suitable characters cracks begin to appear. They discuss the dramatic themes - longing for things past, decay, regret, loss, spite and jealousy which slowly and imperceptibly begin to take over the actors and their characters. Little do the actors realise they will be consumed by the play both as the characters, over which they argue, bitch, make alliances and betrayals, and as themselves, loving, jealous, spiteful, bullying human beings. What begins as a light-hearted weekend of theatrical fun gradually turns into a self-doubting and destructive scenario. As they gather in the garden to make their theatrical entrance will they ever be ...