Acting Honours to Women

Margaret Walker has often proved her special flair for building up stage tension: she is at her best with sudden explosions of naked feeling. These The Cherry Orchard hardly offers; it is a play of flickering sunlight through shadow, of tender or naive self-exposure rather than direct clashes of passion. One "strong" scene (between Lyubov and Petya) was brought off in Act Three, But in the true climax that follows the announcement of the sale of the cherry orchard, Lopahin failed to dominate as he should.

Elizabeth Gordon, in a leading part that has extended the most experienced actresses, played with great sensitivity and feeling. Perhaps she was too little of the demi-mondaine, more Barry than Chekhov. But she has overcome the restlessness of [unclear: movenent] that once threatened her [unclear: sty] and gave here an accomplished and moving performance. Virginia Todd made a most appealing ingenue in the Swan Lake manner. Alva Challis grappled, rather too strenuously, with the ungrateful part of Varya—a severer costume and hairstyle might perhaps have helped her out.

The lighter women's parts were admirably cast, and provided two minor triumphs. Natasha Tver—to whom this whole production clearly owed a very great deal—played Dooniasha most effectively for comedy throughout, and observed more completely than anyone else the Stanislavsky formula (for Chekhov) of naturalness and spontaneity. Heather Scott filled the brittle, enigmatic role of the conjuring governess with crisp intelligence, and a beautifully modulated delivery.