Chekhov across time and space

The stage is enveloped on all sides, creating a compact, almost claustrophobic space crafted from wood, with a design that evokes both intimacy and tension. The actors, holding pieces of chalk, sketch scenes of shadows on windows and faded cabinets, creating a nostalgic yet ephemeral setting. The characters, each immersed in their own reflections, either mourn the past or dream of the future.

The Cherry Orchard, Anton Chekhov's timeless story with themes of change, loss, and adaptation, has been reimagined by the Beijing People's Art Theatre. Directed by Georgian director David Doiashvili, the Chinese stage adaptation premiered on Wednesday at the Cao Yu Theater in the Beijing International Theatre Centre, with shows running until Jan 11.

A drama in four acts, The Cherry Orchard, performed and published in 1904, was Chekhov's final play, and is also one of the most iconic works in the history of world theater. It centers on Lubov Ranevskaya, who returns to her family estate in Russia after years of living abroad in France, only to find the estate and the once-beautiful orchard on the verge of being sold to pay off her debts. The story captures the profound cultural and emotional upheavals caused by societal and economic change.

"The drama reflects how individuals adapt to the shifting tides of time and make difficult choices, sometimes at the expense of the past," says Doiashvili, whose approach has blurred the lines between time and space onstage, creating a world where past, present and future coexist in an abstract, fluid form.