The Orchard, at Malthouse Theatre - 75 minutes

Oh my. What would lauded Russian playwright Anton Chekhov think if he came back to life and saw Pony Cam’s hilarious reimagining of The Cherry Orchard?

Photos by Pia Johnson

Written in 1903, the original concerns an aristocratic landowner returning to her family estate and sanctioning its sale to pay the mortgage.

As the orchard literally faces the chop, the family leaves the estate.

Even though some saw the conceit as a tragedy, Chekhov regarded it as a comedy, with elements of farce.

It focuses on the socioeconomic forces in Russia at the turn of the 20th century.

From the get go, laughter abounds in The Orchard (Pony Cam removed the word Cherry from the title).

The young theatre-making collective uses five actors and five audience members (chosen from the foyer 15 minutes earlier) to rework the premise.

First up, one of the Pony Cam quintet informs us that the company will redo The Cherry Orchard without any of the original dialogue.

Further, the train has been held up and his family is still in transit, so to fill in the time he asks us whether we have any questions. Funny stuff, indeed.

It sets the tone for the mayhem that follows.

And then, with the appropriate sound effect, the train does arrive.

The family, complete with hand-picked audience members, suitcases in hand, wearing fur, get out of a faux lift at the back of the stage and take their places.

Dust sheets are removed from the furniture dotted around the stage to reveal a bathtub, a desk, a drinks cart and so forth.

Each of the actors is dressed alike in maroon with red vests. They all don sunglasses.

And so the play begins, with the words The Orchard is in trouble.

From here on in, the narrator – who varies throughout between the actors – details the reasons the orchard is in trouble.

That starts with its financial state, fine details of which are provided and highlighted electronically above the stage.

With each iteration of the difficulties, an actor, usually in the company of others and with a blank look, poses this question: What are we going to do about the orchard?

Sometimes the answers given have no bearing on the question. On other occasions, the answers are simply cut off and we move on.

Repetition and farce are the name of the game.

Amongst the hijinks, the selected audience members appearing in The Orchard play along, undertaking assigned tasks.

Examples include building towers out of plastic champagne glasses and counting the returns from Scratch-It cards, bought in an endeavour to save the orchard.

Then, one of the actors details a bold plan to create a fortune from the sale of the orchard and thereby save Russia from its socioeconomic turmoil.

Before this is over, wood will be chopped, the proverbial farm will be sold and the most loyal of servants will die, just as it was in Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.

Absurd – undoubtedly, but so creative and clever.

Yes, it is decidedly different, but that is just one thing I admire about The Orchard.

The five actors – Claire Bird, Ava Campbell, William Strom, Dominic Weintraub and Hugo Williams – are all acknowledged as co-creators of the work.

It is Strom who kicks off proceedings as I outlined earlier and then takes his place among the ensemble.

At one point, the ridiculousness of it all even has an actor chuckling uncontrollably. Loved it!

The audience reaction, too, is priceless for this is unlike anything I – and I would suggest they – have seen before.

Keep in mind that the basic storyline of The Cherry Orchard has been maintained, but it has been liberally adapted to speak to a contemporary crowd.

I would like to think that Chekhov – like me – would be applauding the audacity and preposterousness of Pony Cam’s model.

Sophie Woodward’s set and costume design – period detail with modern cherry flourishes – are magnificent, while Harrie Hogan’s lighting focuses the action.

The classic text has, indeed, been given life anew in a delightful 75-minute provocation.

The Orchard is on in the Beckett Theatre at Malthouse Theatre until 16^th August, 2025.