OBSERVER: The Orchard
The Pony Cam troupe make no pretence about trying to revive or perform a classic even though The Orchard is based on Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard.
Indeed, they endeavour to eschew character, plot and narrative and dive into the themes and tone of Chekov’s original in a form of experimental and improvised theatre that could well alter each night of their season at the Malthouse.
The five members of the troupe (Claire Bird, Ava Campbell, William Strom, Dominic Weintraub, Hugo Williams) are all similarly dressed to discourage differentiation. Their dialogue, if such it could be called, is schematic echoing the refrain, “What do we do about the orchard?” What that does do is allow the ordinary comic minutia of life to be revealed which Chekov so keenly championed.
And the work is propelled into the present day by linking the economic reality that confronted Chekov’s characters with the financial certainties that continue to dominate by stump speeches about corporate development and entrepreneurial excess. Thus, Chekov’s original themes still resonate but find a new relevance in today’s world that hark back to the disruption of his time.
Adding to the theatrical uncertainty is the co-opting of members of the audience to evoke the images of Chekov’s day by having them fulfill the expected tasks one might have witnessed in a conventional production.
And this is where I have to make a confession. I was one of those used as stage dressing having to carry a box and collect glass jars as the performance was underway.
We became the expected visual echo of the past while the troupe presented current day realities.
This is an imaginative form of theatre that could easily go wrong but for the fact that it is in the hands of some very creative and enthusiastic dramatists keen to explore theatrical boundaries.
It is true to Chekov’s thematic and comic intent without uttering a word of his dialogue.
Performance Season: Until August 16
Venue: Beckett Theatre, Malthouse, Southbank
Bookings: malthousetheatre.com.au
Review by David McLean