Cherry Orchard West End Cast Takes Shape: Parkes, Rawle and Full Company Revealed
Nadia Parkes and Jeff Rawle have joined the cast of The Cherry Orchard, completing a fifteen-strong company for the West End revival opening at the Harold Pinter Theatre this autumn.
Kristin Scott Thomas leads the production as Lyubov Ranevskaya, the aristocrat returning to her debt-laden estate, with Stephen Mangan as Lopakhin, the merchant's son turned buyer. The pair anchor a cast that Whatsonstage confirmed in full on 21 August 2026, adding Parkes as Anya and Rawle as the perennially broke neighbour Pishchik (Whatsonstage).
The production's official website lists Anastasia Martin in the role of Anya (thecherryorchardplay.co.uk), and the Whatsonstage article names both Parkes and Martin for the part. Whether the role is shared or one listing is superseded has not been clarified.
Around Scott Thomas and Mangan, the company spans some of the busiest character actors in British theatre. Peter Wight plays Gaev, Ranevskaya's brother; Vinette Robinson is Varya, the adopted daughter running the household; and Karl Johnson takes on Firs, the ageing servant. Ruby Bentall plays the governess Sharlotta, Megan Cusack is the maid Dunyasha, and Noof Ousellam is Yasha, the young footman. Shubham Saraf plays Yepikhodov, the accident-prone clerk, and Jack Riddiford is Trofimov, the perpetual student.
The adaptation is by Conor McPherson, whose own plays include The Weir and Girl from the North Country, and is directed by Ian Rickson, a frequent McPherson collaborator. The Cherry Orchard — Anton Chekhov's final play, first staged in 1904 — follows a family unable to prevent the sale of their beloved cherry orchard at auction.
Behind the scenes, the creative team includes set designer Chloe Lamford, costume designer Sussie Juhlin-Wallén, lighting designer Bruno Poet, sound designer Tom Gibbons, composer Stephen Warbeck and movement director Shelley Maxwell. Amy Ball handles casting.
Sonia Friedman Productions and Winkler and Smalberg produce. Friedman is among the West End's most active commercial producers, with recent credits including The Pillowman and Stereophonic.
The Cherry Orchard runs at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 3 October 2026 to 9 January 2027, with a press night on 13 October 2026. The Harold Pinter, on Panton Street, opened in 1881 as the Royal Comedy Theatre and was renamed in 2011 in honour of the playwright, who had his final play, No Man's Land, premiere there in 1975.
For audiences, the draw is straightforward: Scott Thomas on a London stage for the first time since her Olivier-nominated turn in Electra at the Old Vic in 2024, opposite Mangan, a stage regular whose credits range from The Norman Conquests to Celebrity Autobiography. Chekhov's last play, a new adaptation by one of Ireland's most performed dramatists, and a director with a proven track record on the material. The arithmetic of whether the orchard falls will be settled on press night.
