In The Cherry Orchard, Lyubov Andreevna loses her family estate under the weight of debt. At auction, the property is purchased by Lopakhin, who plans to cut down the famous orchard and transform the plot into a holiday resort. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov wrote his final and most celebrated play in 1903, gathering within it many of the character types and emotional landscapes that define his fictional world. In it, he brings together characters whom we encounter in various forms and incarnations in his other works, with the focus on the upper class’s inability to manage capital responsibly, the arrival of a new generation, and stereotypical depictions of social relations at the beginning of the 20th century. Although the play focuses on the collapse of old privileges and the transformation of the social system, in a time of upheaval one can find direct contemporary parallels to the precious cherry orchard, which is threatened with ruin.

There is no need to emphasize how well capital and tourism go hand in hand when it comes to natural assets and cultural heritage in the European context. It seems that eventually all of Europe will turn into a tourist destination where every building is either a hotel or a souvenir shop. Overtourism does to natural assets what gentrification does to city centres. The local population no longer has a place of its own in an environment where tourism is the only economic sector. They will be driven out by tourists, just as Lyubov Andreevna and her family are being driven out. Is Europe anything more than just an interesting tourist destination, another run-of-the-mill photo for social media? Director Nina Šorak points out that Europe is preoccupied with plastic bottle caps, while some people want to fly to Mars. “If we continue to rely solely on the pillars of heritage and the glow of past greatness, capital will inevitably devour us.”

Chekhov himself described The Cherry Orchard as a comedy, while its legendary first director, Konstantin Stanislavski, saw it as a tragedy. Both readings remain true.