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Review roundup · West End

THE CHERRY ORCHARD REVIEWS: CRITICS ON KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS AND STEPHEN MANGAN AT THE HAROLD PINTER THEATRE.

By Fitzrovia Talent ·

In brief

The production at a glance

The production reunites Rickson and McPherson after their Uncle Vanya, which played the same theatre in 2020. The pair first worked together on The Weir in 1997. Rickson also directed Scott Thomas's Olivier-winning Arkadina in The Seagull, in London and on Broadway, and directed Mangan in Pinter's The Birthday Party in 2018. (WestEndTheatre.com; Best of Theatre)

The company also includes Peter Wight (Gaev), Vinette Robinson (Varya), Karl Johnson (Firs), Anastasia Martin (Anya), Jack Riddiford (Trofimov), Jeff Rawle (Pishchik), Ruby Bentall (Sharlotta), Megan Cusack (Dunyasha), Noof Ousellam (Yasha) and Shubham Saraf (Yepikhodov), with a travelling band of Kathleen Cranham, Rachel Dawson and Fergus Murphy. (Best of Theatre)

The set is by Chloe Lamford, costumes by Sussie Juhlin-Wallén, lighting by Bruno Poet, sound by Tom Gibbons and music by Stephen Warbeck, with movement by Shelley Maxwell and casting by Amy Ball CDG. Sonia Friedman Productions and Winkler & Smalberg produce. (Best of Theatre; Sonia Friedman Productions)

It arrives in a busy year for the play: the RSC staged a version with Helen Hunt and Kenneth Branagh at the Swan this summer. (WestEndTheatre.com)

The star ratings

How the critics rated the production:

Best of Theatre counted 33 reviews by 14 October: seventeen four-star notices, one at three and a half, six at three stars and two at two, with the rest unrated or behind paywalls. Among the 26 that give a score, the average is 3.6 out of 5. theatre.reviews puts the critics' average at 3.5, and WestEndTheatre.com at 3.7 across the seven reviews in its table. (Best of Theatre; theatre.reviews; WestEndTheatre.com)

Kristin Scott Thomas's Ranevskaya

The critics agree on the star. WestEndTheatre.com notes that every review it gathered singles her out, quoting the Telegraph's Cavendish, who found her "hypnotically restless upon arrival". (WestEndTheatre.com)

WhatsOnStage went furthest, saying she "surpasses her acclaimed Arkadina in The Seagull" as "a riveting Ranevskaya, albeit not necessarily the one we might've expected". LondonTheatre.co.uk's Marianka Swain called her "remarkable", giving the role "both majestic command" and real psychological reasoning, and City AM's Adam Bloodworth called her "luminous". (WhatsOnStage; LondonTheatre.co.uk; theatre.reviews)

In The Guardian, Arifa Akbar wrote that Scott Thomas "brings a hard-edged modernity that you believe in", while The Times' Clive Davis found "an emptiness to her eyes that is quite chilling". (The Guardian; theatre.reviews)

Stephen Mangan splits the critics

Mangan's Lopakhin, the serf's son turned self-made merchant, drew the widest range of opinion. Time Out's Lukowski called it "an absolutely storming performance" from "the perennially underestimated Stephen Mangan", wondering whether it was his "career best". The Standard's Nick Curtis saw "a serio-comic masterclass in timing and fretful awkwardness". (Time Out; theatre.reviews)

LondonTheatre.co.uk found him "brilliantly excruciating", and in the Financial Times Tim Bano wrote that the way he "mutates nervousness into glee into disappointment is remarkable to watch". (LondonTheatre.co.uk; theatre.reviews)

Not everyone was won over. The Guardian called it "an interestingly powerless interpretation, though only half convincing", and The Times felt Mangan "smiles and smiles but seldom gives us much of a sense of the anguish stirring underneath". (The Guardian; WestEndTheatre.com)

Karl Johnson and a strong ensemble

If one supporting performance unites the critics, it's Karl Johnson's ancient servant Firs. Best of Theatre notes that nearly all of the reviews single him out, and The Independent said he is "brilliantly portrayed by Karl Johnson". WhatsOnStage found him "glorious and very touching". (Best of Theatre; The Independent; WhatsOnStage)

WhatsOnStage added that "there's not a false note in any of the supporting performances", calling Megan Cusack "a delight" as Dunyasha. The Independent praised Vinette Robinson's "engaging, trembling neuroticism" as Varya, and The Guardian found the production's most affecting moments in Varya's story. (WhatsOnStage; The Independent; The Guardian)

What fell flat

The ending was the most common concern. The Telegraph felt "the cumulative despair feels truncated", and BroadwayWorld's Gary Naylor wrote that the production "doesn't quite catch all the heights and depths of the emotions". (WestEndTheatre.com; theatre.reviews)

Several critics were puzzled by Sussie Juhlin-Wallén's costumes, which move between period and later dress. Time Out called them "the oddest innovation", though WhatsOnStage felt they "vividly evoke a late 20th-century Soviet Union". (Time Out; WhatsOnStage)

McPherson's plain-spoken, often sweary script divided opinion most sharply. The Daily Mail and First Night Magazine were the clearest dissenters, with Marmion arguing that "any sense of place or class struggle has all but vanished". (Best of Theatre; theatre.reviews)

Dates and tickets

(The Cherry Orchard official site; LondonTheatre.co.uk; Best of Theatre)

What it means for performers

Almost every review talks about the company as much as the star, from Karl Johnson's Firs to Megan Cusack's Dunyasha. A big-name West End revival lives or dies on the strength of its whole cast, and on actors who can land comedy and grief in the same scene. If you're an actor looking for representation, or a casting director with a brief, get in touch with Fitzrovia Talent.

FAQ

What are the reviews like for The Cherry Orchard at the Harold Pinter Theatre? Warm but not unanimous. WhatsOnStage, Time Out, The Telegraph, The Independent, The Stage, The Standard and City AM gave four stars; The Guardian, The Times and the Financial Times gave three; the Daily Mail gave two. Roundup sites put the critics' average at 3.5 to 3.7 out of 5.

How did critics rate Kristin Scott Thomas as Ranevskaya? She is the performance critics praise most consistently. The Telegraph called her hypnotic, City AM called her luminous, and WhatsOnStage thought she surpasses her Olivier-winning Arkadina in The Seagull.

What did critics think of Stephen Mangan's Lopakhin? Opinion is split. Time Out called it a possible career best and The Standard a serio-comic masterclass, while The Guardian found the interpretation only half convincing and The Times wanted more sense of the anguish underneath.

Where is The Cherry Orchard playing and how long does it run? At the Harold Pinter Theatre, 6 Panton Street, London SW1Y 4DN. Previews began on 3 October 2026 and it is booking until 9 January 2027.

How long is The Cherry Orchard, and what is the age guidance? About 2 hours 30 minutes including one interval. LondonTheatre.co.uk lists the age recommendation as 11+, and the production contains a depiction of a character threatening self-harm with a firearm.

Are there cheap tickets for The Cherry Orchard? Yes. From Tuesday 20 October the whole front row of the stalls is £30 for anyone under 30, with a maximum of two tickets per booking and photo ID possibly requested. LondonTheatre.co.uk lists standard tickets from £31.

Sources