I read this play a couple of weeks ago for a class. The bookstore ordered the wrong edition. I had this adaptation of the play by David Mamet. It was awful, this particular translation/adaptation made reading the play painful. However, I think that if I had read another translation, I would have enjoyed the play much more.

A friend of mine gave me a copy of Anton Chekhov and His Times which I have been enjoying. I read this play so I could learn more about Chekhov’s work. To appreciate this play I think it is best to put it into context. The serfs were freed in Russia in 1861 and the social change that ensued is at the center of a lot of works from the following years. In this play the orchard represents the old way of life.