Monday, July 16, 2018

Pendoggett Day 6 (Thursday) - The Cherry Orchard

This was my first Chekhov play, so here's what Wikipedia says of it
"The play concerns an aristocratic Russian landowner who returns to her family estate (which includes a large and well-known cherry orchard) just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage. Unresponsive to offers to save the estate, she allows its sale to the son of a former serf; the family leaves to the sound of the cherry orchard being cut down. The story presents themes of cultural futility – both the futile attempts of the aristocracy to maintain its status and of the bourgeoisie to find meaning in its newfound materialism. It dramatises the socio-economic forces in Russia at the turn of the 20th century, including the rise of the middle class after the abolition of serfdom in the mid-19th century and the decline of the power of the aristocracy."
It was nicely played (so far as I can tell) by the Miracle theatre company and has quite a bit of he loves her, and she's not interested but loves him - none of which is ever resolved as the characters are scattered by the loss of the estate.
The location for the presentation is the Minack Theatre, carved into the rock near Land's End it is an amazing place, while the stage is small and the audience packed tightly on the terraces, the atmosphere is amazing.  When the production stops, there is just the sound of the sea and the babble of hundreds of human voices as the conversations start.  We took a picnic and are it during the intermission. 

After the production, we were asked to head towards Land's End to give the arriving audience a better chance to reach the theatre easily.  The roads are single track, we had lost a lot of time trying to get past various vehicles coming the other way.  So we drove to Penzance, where the pirates (otherwise known as Cornwall County Council) tried to fleece us of 60p.  A small amount that generates more anger than it should!  To explain: The ticket machine says "minimum charge 0.60". The notice board says "16:00-09:00 no charge" and "a ticket must be displayed for each space used".  So it SHOULD issue a zero value ticket, shouldn't it.  We didn't pay.

The town is nicer than the county council.




Next stop, St. Ives.  We parked in the top car park and walked downhill into town, starting at one end of the bay, we soon found a fish and chip shop for tea.  "Harbour Fish and Chips" is a very nice modern fish restaurant and take away.  In the takeaway, we ordered Haddock and chips and grilled sea bass.  The cook produced battered haddock and battered sea bass.  As compensation for the extra wait, we were given two grilled sea bass.  Very nicely done by the staff.  Then to fend off the gulls.
Found this bird in Penzance and watched it fish for a little while.  It looks like a Little Egret.
Finally, Jo accepted this challenge, found in one of the St Ives shops.


Walking Minutes: 156  Brisk:59
Steps:11580
Driven so far: 617.8

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