Centaur Theatre opens 2024-2025 season with a twist on an old classic
Sakura invites self-evaluation of biases through Chekhovian character dynamics and a diverse expression of worldviews
The Centaur Theatre has launched its 2024-2025 season with Sakura, a witty reimagining of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. Sakura puts a new spin on the classic by bringing the original premise into present-day rural Quebec, with fresh twists and a hint of nostalgia.
“I think a real strength of this production is the beautiful imagery,” assistant director Cara Rebecca said.
Written by Harry Standjofski, Sakura follows the return of a wealthy family to their ancestral home a year after the matriarch’s death, only to be confronted with a large, unexpected debt. Lead actress and longtime theatre professor at Dawson College Stefanie Buxton said the play’s themes echo Chekhov’s original work.
“It’s about love, it’s about change, it’s about family, it's about legacy,” she said.
Much like the original, Standjofski’s Sakura is a story that is unravelled through the exploration of its characters and their dynamics.
“It is of Chekhov [as] it is not Chekhov, if that makes any sense,” said Rebecca, who added that Sakura functions narratively in a similar way to The Cherry Orchard, while incorporating modern themes like the climate crisis. “It really speaks to a lot of what is going on in many people's minds on a day-to-day basis.”
The show's production features a mix of longtime established talent and fresh faces new to the Centaur stage. The production team is equally star-studded, with big names such as costume and set designer James Lavoie, who is a regular collaborator with Cirque du Soleil. Torquil Campbell, co-lead singer and songwriter for indie rock band Stars, is on sound design and composing. Centaur’s very own artistic director Eda Holmes is the play director.
The care that went into Sakura’s production is visible in how the set was elaborately built to be in perpetual transformation.
“Lavoie created some really beautiful ideas,” Rebecca said. “[He designed] lovely sheer curtains [that] are moved throughout the space to help carve out the stage in various ways to help bring the audience to a new locale.”
The cast spent a full week rehearsing on the set before technical rehearsals began.
“To feel the architecture early on in your body–-there's nothing like it,” Buxton said.
Sakura marks the Centaur Theatre debut for actors Ravyn R. Bekh and Marc-Antoine Kelertas, who play Annie, the young girl coming into herself, and Peter Tee, the failed academic.
“We're talking about a wealthy family, but the wealthy family is a melanated family,” Bekh said. “Old melanated money is gonna look different from old white money.”
Sakura brings the timeless theme of family tensions from The Cherry Orchard and puts the importance of conversation, both within the family and in the world, at the forefront.
“I’m hoping that people can see the importance of coming together and figuring that shit out together,” Bekh said.
Performances of Sakura will be showing at the Centaur Theatre until Oct. 6th.
