Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard", directed by Clément Hervieu-Léger at the Comédie-Française

From February 21 to June 1, 2025, Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard returns to the Salle Richelieu under the direction of Clément Hervieu-Léger, in a staging that explores memory and social change.

"Everything must change for nothing to change. This phrase from Lampedusa's Le Guépard could just as easily apply toAnton Chekhov 's The Cherry Orchard, a play in which the end of one world resonates with the upheavals of the present. Clément Hervieu-Léger, faithful to his approach to theater as an echo of time, directs this intimate and social fresco at the Comédie-Française, subtly exploring the nostalgia of a fading past and the irresistible march towards the future.

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Lyubov returns from Paris to find her home on the brink of collapse. The family cherry orchard, symbol of an aristocracy frozen in its memories, is threatened by the necessity of a sale that no one wants to face. Lopakhine, the son of a former muzhik and now a merchant, sees a new future for the estate, while Trofimov, an eternal student, embodies the political ideals of a generation in search of renewal. Between attachment to the past and the need for change, the play captures that suspended moment when everything turns upside down, when intimate history meets collective history.

This production is aimed at those who love theater where the intimate and the political come together, where memories converse with the present. Clément Hervieu-Léger, working on La Cerisaie as a theater of memory, places this testamentary play within a contemporary reflection on social change and family inheritance. His approach, faithful to Chekhov's naturalism while sublimating his melancholy, promises a sensitive and profoundly human reading of this masterpiece.

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Premiering in 2021 at the Salle Richelieu, this staging has already won over audiences with its elegance and dramaturgical intelligence. Having explored Molière, Goldoni and Lagarce, Clément Hervieu-Léger is now tackling a work that is particularly close to his heart, highlighting the contradictions and raw emotion running through each character.

At once a social fresco and an intimate drama, La Cerisaie finds a timeless resonance under Clément Hervieu-Léger 's direction. A play that questions heritage and change, carried by the Comédie-Française troupe in all its finesse and depth.

This article is based on information available online; we have not yet seen the show or the staging mentioned.