He joins the previously announced Kenneth Branagh and Helen Hunt in the production.
The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced that Bill Pullman will play Gaev in Laura Wade’s (The Constant Wife, Home, I’m Darling, Posh and Rivals) new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s final play, directed by RSC Co-Artistic Director, Tamara Harvey.
Pullman joins the previously announced Kenneth Branagh and Helen Hunt in the production, which will run at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon from the 10th July until the 29th August. Opening night has been set for the 21st July.
Ranyevskaya and Lopakhin are giants at war over a cherished estate. Madame Ranyevskaya returns from five years in Paris to find her house crumbling under the weight of debt and memory and her beloved cherry orchard under threat. Attempting to mend her extravagance, Lopakhin, the son of a serf, has mortgaged the estate and now wants to sell it off.
Beyond the orchard, people are starving and the aristocracy is in decline. As auction day approaches the household begins to panic. In this collision of past and future, it’s dangerous to stand still when the world demands change.
Talking about the news, Bill Pullman said: “Thrilled is too inadequate – I’m thankful to be part of this company alongside Ken and Helen, and to be working with the talented Tamara Harvey and Laura Wade. When I think of this production, set in the Swan Theatre, I have a feeling that we all are anticipating an experience of exceptional power. Hurry, first rehearsal.”
He is best known for his roles across film and television including: Spaceballs, Independence Day, While You Were Sleeping, Sleepless in Seattle, The Battle of the Sexes and The Accidental Tourist. He began his career in New York theater in 1983 and has remained active on stage, most recently appearing in the National Theatre’s 2019 revival of All My Sons and Mad House in the West End, whilst on Broadway, his credits include the Tony-Award winning The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? and The Subject was Roses.
The creative team behind the production will include: Set and Costume Designer is Anna Fleischle and the Casting Director is Charlotte Sutton CDG with further creative team to be announced soon.
To find out more visit: https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-cherry-orchard/