Cover From left: Jeon Do-yeon and Haesoo Park (Photo: courtesy of Asia+ Festival)
From left: Jeon Do-yeon and Haesoo Park (Photo: courtesy of Asia+ Festival)
1 / 1
A contemporary Korean reimagining of Chekhov’s classic premieres at the Asia+ Festival, with Jeon Do-yeon—fresh from her film triumphs—bringing star power to the stage.
Opening the 2025 Asia+ Festival—which celebrates Asia’s performing arts—in Hong Kong this September, The Cherry Orchard returns in a daring Korean interpretation of Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece. Produced by Seoul’s LG Arts Center and directed by acclaimed Australian theatre-maker Simon Stone, this staging transplants the Russian classic into contemporary South Korea, exploring its timeless themes through a modern lens. At its heart is Jeon Do-yeon, the Cannes Best Actress winner whose commanding stage presence has made this production a sensation at home and abroad.
Jeon, joined by Squid Game star Park Hae-soo, plays Lady Ranevskaya with a deft balance of fragility and defiance. Their performances helped the Seoul run achieve complete sell-outs, drawing more than 40,000 theatregoers over 30 performances with a remarkable 95 per cent occupancy rate according to The Straits Times.
Don’t miss: Picasso’s artworks and personal belongings, some never before shown outside Europe, come to Macau
Above ‘The Cherry Orchard’ (Photo: courtesy of Asia+ Festival)
‘The Cherry Orchard’ (Photo: courtesy of Asia+ Festival)
1 / 1
Stone, known for reimagining classics such as Medea and Ibsen House, relocates Chekhov’s tale of a fading aristocracy and the rise of the merchant class into the tensions of modern Korean society. The result is a work that resonates across cultures—exploring loss, legacy and change against a shifting socio-economic backdrop.
Running from September 19 to 21, the production takes over the Grand Theatre at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Linda Lee of Hong Kong’s Festival Office praised the collaboration as “bold and thoughtful” in Korean media Sports Chosun, highlighting the synergy between Stone’s vision and the Korean ensemble’s artistry.
Above The cast of ‘The Cherry Orchard’ (Photo: courtesy of Asia+ Festival)
The cast of ‘The Cherry Orchard’ (Photo: courtesy of Asia+ Festival)
1 / 1
Following its Hong Kong debut, The Cherry Orchard will tour to Singapore’s Esplanade from November 7 to 9 November as part of events marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Singapore. Discussions are also underway for appearances at the Adelaide Festival in March 2026 and New York’s Park Avenue Armory in September 2026.
For Jeon, whose film work has captivated audiences worldwide, this return to the stage is more than a performance—it is an affirmation of theatre’s enduring ability to bridge past and present, East and West. In Stone’s hands, The Cherry Orchard blooms again, speaking as urgently to today’s audiences as it did over a century ago.
NOW READ
Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
