After the production of Tartuffe which I mentioned earlier, I saw The Cherry Orchard at the Schaubuehne last night. It wasn’t necessarily a great production, but it reminded me how little classic theatre we see in New York, where we spent most of our time watching plays that look very similar to what we get on TV. I am not convinced that it it is the generous state subsidies that allow European theatres to produce classic plays: Not far from the Schaubuehne, also on the Kurfustendamm (Berlin’s version of the Boulevard), one of Berlin’s biggest commercial venues, the Komoedie am Kurfustendamm, is also doing Chekhov, with no state support.
Based on last night’s Orchard, my impression is that what makes classic plays approachable on the German stage is the fact that they are not treated as consecrated classics. In fact, in the absence of a living playwright, German directors are freer to make much more radical (if sometimes rediculous) interpretations. I don’t claim I understand what the set, made entirely out of sheepskin rugs, had to do with Chekhov’s play. But when all the rugs were removed and piled on the right side of the stage before the end of the play, there seemed to be some method in the madness.
Here’s hoping someone in New York does a play on sheepskin next season!
