But please, this is a farce! ' The story of The Cherry Orchard
CHEKHOV: '... It hasn't turned out a drama but as a comedy, in places even a farce.'
STANISLAVSKY: ' ... I wept like a woman, I tried to control myself but I could not. I hear you say, " but please, this is a farce! " No, for the ordinary person, this is a tragedy.'
With the advent of two major new productions of The Cherry Orchard, at the National Theatre and Riverside Studios, Arena: Theatre addresses itself to the recurring debate about Chekhov the ' comic' dramatist.