Helen Hunt and Kenneth Branagh in “The Cherry Orchard” RSC

From 10 July to 29 August 2026, the Royal Shakespeare Company stages The Cherry Orchard at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in a new version by Laura Wade, directed by Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey. Multi-award winners Helen Hunt and Kenneth Branagh star as Ranyevskaya and Lopakhin, locked in a battle over a fading estate. As debts mount and auction day looms, Chekhov’s final play captures a society on the brink of upheaval — both tragic and darkly comic in equal measure. For more information and tickets click on ‘buy ticket’.