Cast and Creatives The Cherry Orchard Close Passer-By Rob Alexander-Adams Previous RSC includes: Hamlet (UK Tour) Theatre includes: Punch (Apollo Theatre), Mrs Warren’s Profession (Garrick Theatre), A Mirror, Macbeth (Trafalgar Theatre), Brokeback Mountain (@sohoplace), Stranger Things (Phoenix Theatre), F**king Men (Waterloo East Theatre), The Caretaker, Love's Labour’s Lost, Racing Demon, Noises Off (Wolsey Theatre), Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Library Theatre), The Sunset Ship (Young Vic), Keeper Of The Flame (UK Tour) Television includes: Suspect (ITV), The Bill (ITV), The Chief (Anglia TV) Film includes: The Fifth Element, Deadweight, Burnt Flowers, Exit, Collision Course, Capture Lopakhin Kenneth Branagh Kenneth Branagh has been involved with 35 Shakespeare productions, including acclaimed screen adaptations of Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet He has directed 21 feature films, including Thor, Cinderella and Murder on the Orient Express Recent acting roles include such films as Dunkirk and Oppenheimer,The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Mayday On TV he won both BAFTA and Emmy awards as Wallander His film Belfast won him the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Recent theatre credits include: Ivanov, Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale and King Lear. Anya Chumisa Dornford-May This is Chumisa’s RSC debut Theatre includes: Into the Woods (Bridge Theatre), Here We Are (National Theatre), Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 (Donmar Warehouse), The Phantom of the Opera (His Majesty’s Theatre), The Addams Family - Musical in Concert (London Palladium), Evita (Curve, Leicester), Aspects of Love (Lyric Theatre) Workshops include: Paris (RSC), Fado (ATG), Feral Monster (NT Studio), Martin Guerre (Old Vic) Trained at: Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts Firs Michael Elwyn This is Michael’s RSC debut Theatre includes: Under Milk Wood, Network, The Red Barn, Waste (National Theatre), The Country Wife (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Audience (Gielgud/Schoenfeld, New York), Mametz (National Theatre Wales), Much Ado About Nothing (Old Vic), Rope (Almeida), The Long Road (Soho Theatre and HM Prisons), Charley’s Aunt, Three Sisters, What Every Woman Knows, Cymbeline (Royal Exchange), The Woman Hater, The Seagull, A Penny For A Song, We The Undersigned, The Way To Keep Him, The Secret Life (Orange Tree), The Solid Gold Cadillac (Garrick), Revelations (Hampstead Theatre), Broken Glass (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Darwin in Malibu (Birmingham Rep), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, All’s Well That Ends Well, Troilus & Cressida (Regent’s Park Open Air), Jumpers (Norwich Playhouse), Love on the Plastic ( Half Moon), Nothing Sacred (Theatr Clwyd), WCPC, Macbeth (Liverpool Playhouse), Butley, The Philanthropist, Otherwise Engaged, Bodies (Watermill), Uncle Vanya (Century Theatre). Television includes: The Rapture, Talamasca, Out There, House of the Dragon, Foundation, Unprecedented, Quiz, Coronation Street, Stella, Will, Da Vinci’s Demons, The Tudors, Small Island, U Be Dead, Into the Storm, 10 Days to War, Robin Hood, Casualty, My Dinner with Hervé, Sharpe’s Challenge, The Queen’s Sister, Midsomer Murders, Heartbeat, Dirty Filthy Love, Byron, Daniel Deronda, Bertie & Elizabeth, Border Cafe, This Life, No Bananas, The Carnforth Practice Film includes: Decline and Fall, A Touch of Class, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, The Iron Lady, Battle of Britain, Half Moon Street, Jinnah, Shadow Man, Rare Beasts Trofimov Alfred Enoch Previous RSC includes: Henry V, Pericles Theatre includes: What A Carve Up!, The Picture of Dorian Gray, As You Like It (@sohoplace), Romeo and Juliet (Globe), Crave (Chichester Festival Theatre), Tree (Young Vic / Manchester International Festival), Red (Wyndham’s Theatre), King Lear (Talawa / Manchester Royal Exchange), Coriolanus (Donmar Warehouse), Timon of Athens, Antigone (National Theatre) Television includes: Miss Austen (BBC), The Couple Next Door (Channel 4), Foundation (Apple TV), Trust Me (BBC), How To Get Away With Murder (ABC), Troy: Fall of a City (BBC), Sherlock (BBC), Mount Pleasant (Sky), Broadchurch (BBC) Film includes: The Critic, This Is Christmas, Executive Order, Tigers, The Harry Potter series Radio includes: Darkness, Anna Karenina, The Duino Elegies, The Kiss of the Spider Woman Other: Alfred is an Artistic Associate of the Young Vic Dunyasha Amber Gadd This is Amber’s RSC debut Film includes: Laundreams Trained at: Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Opendoor As a filmmaker: Amber’s debut short Laundreams premiered at the 2026 Raindance Film Festival. It stars BAFTA-nominated actor Paapa Essiedu, with BIFA and BAFTA-nominated actor Maxine Peake serving as executive producer. Pishchik Guy Henry Previous RSC includes: Wendy & Peter Pan, Twelfth Night, King John, Cymbeline, All's Well That Ends Well, Volpone, and many others Theatre includes: Hayfever (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Coast of Utopia (National Theatre), Mary Stuart (Donmar) and many other productions at the National Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre, Donmar Warehouse and in the West End Television includes: Holby City, Rome, John Adams, Young Sherlock, Extras, Sword of Honour, Lost in Austen, Colditz, Criminal Justice, Life in Squares, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, Grantchester, Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, Marie Antoinette, The Hairdresser Mysteries, The Chelsea Detective, The Burning Girls, Shakespeare & Hathaway, among many others Film includes: Tarzan, Another Country, Lady Jane, Starter for 10, England, My England, Bright Young Things, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Part 2, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Madame Ranyevskaya Helen Hunt This is Helen’s RSC debut Theatre includes: Betrayal (Goodman Theatre, Chicago), Eureka Day (Old Vic) Television incudes: Hacks (HBO), Blindspotting (Starz), Mad About You (Spectrum Originals – including 4 Emmy Awards, 4 Golden Globe Awards (three for Lead Actress and one as a Producer for Best Comedy, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her work on Mad About You), Empire Falls (HBO) Film includes: Lucca Mortis, The Sessions (Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female). The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award and the Jury Prize for Best Ensemble), As Good As It Gets (Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as a Golden Globe and SAG Award). Her other widely recognized film credits include: Candy Jar, Ride (Netflix), Decoding Annie Parker, Soul Surfer, Every Day, Bobby, When She Found Me, As Good As It Gets, What Women Want, Castaway, A Good Woman, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Dr. T and The Women, Pay It Forward, Twister, How It Ends, The Night Clerk, I See You, The Waterdance, Kiss of Death, Mr. Saturday Night, Peggy Sue Got Married, Next of Kin, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Project X, Miles From Home Recently, Hunt was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Taormina Film Festival in Italy, recognizing a career defined by versatility, intelligence, and creative courage. Offstage Understudy Erin Siobhan Hutching This is Erin’s RSC debut Theatre includes: Barrier(s) (National Theatre), The Promise (Lyric Hammersmith / Birmingham Rep), Treasure Island (Derby Theatre), The Winter’s Tale (Derby Theatre), The Process (Bunker Theatre), 4.48 Psychosis (New Diorama), Telethon (Shoreditch Town Hall), Macbeth: Toil and Trouble (Martin Harris Centre), A Christmas Carol (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama), Peeling (Chapter Arts / National Tour), People of the Eye (Battersea Arts Centre / The Yard / National Tour), Jack, or the Submission/The Future is In Eggs (The Space) Television includes: Eastenders (BBC), Deaf Funny (Lumo TV / Film 4), Offspring (Network 10 Australia) Film includes: The Ballad of Des and Mo, Signing Off For Christmas, Name Me Lawand, Break Yasha Julian Moore-Cook Previous RSC includes: Cowbois (RSC / Royal Court) Theatre includes: The Pillowman (Gate Theatre Dublin), Conversations After Sex (Park Theatre), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Liverpool Everyman), Underdog: The Other Other Bronte (National Theatre / Northern Stage), The False Servant, While the Sun Shines, The Rolling Stone (Orange Tree), Translations (National Theatre), The Lieutenant of Innishmore (Michael Grandage Company), Dublin Carol (Sherman Theatre), Mother Courage and Her Children (Southwark Playhouse), Three Sisters (Lyric Theatre Belfast), The Beggar's Opera (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre), Our American Cousin (The Finborough), Twelfth Night (Iris Theatre), ObamAmerica (Theatre 503) Television includes: Blue Lights, Peaky Blinders, Holby City, Shakespeare and Hathaway, Casualty, Doctors (BBC), The Peripheral (Amazon), Derry Girls (Channel 4), Endeavour, Benidorm (ITV), Kate & Koji (Hat Trick Productions), 24, Live Another Day (FOX) Film includes: You’ll Never Believe Who’s Dead, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and Ballywalter Gaev Bill Pullman This is Bill's RSC debut Theatre includes: All My Sons (Old Vic), Mad House (West End); The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, The Subject was Roses (Broadway); Sticks and Bones (Off Broadway); Peter and Jerry (Second Stage Theater). Television includes: The Sinner, Halston, The Murdaugh Murders: The Movie. Film includes: Spaceballs, Independence Day, While You Were Sleeping, Sleepless in Seattle, The Battle of the Sexes, The Accidental Tourist Upcoming projects include: The Boroughs, The Basics of Philosophy, Jody Hill’s Famous, Spaceballs: The New One, Everybody Digs Bill Evans. Yepikhodov Andy Rush Previous RSC includes: The Forsyte Saga Parts 1 and 2 Theatre includes: The Forsyte Saga (Park Theatre), Small Change (Clapham Omnibus), You Stupid Darkness! (Southwark Playhouse), The Here and This and Now (Southwark Playhouse / Theatre Royal Plymouth), Growth, Love, Lies and Taxidermy, I Got Superpowers For My Birthday, Jumpers For Goalposts (Paines Plough), Tipping The Velvet, Dick Whittington (Lyric Hammersmith), Unidentified Item In The Bagging Area (Old Red Lion), Twelfth Night (The Lamb Players), Hello/Goodbye (Hampstead Theatre), Anna Karenina (Arcola Theatre), The Kitchen Sink (Bush Theatre) Film includes: Carnage, ID2: Shadwell Army, Here and Now Television includes: Before We Die, Casualty, Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This, Waterloo Road, Doctors, Wizards Vs Aliens, Holby City, New Tricks Trained at: Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Varya Esther Smith This is Esther’s RSC debut Theatre includes: Marys Seacole (Donmar Warehouse), Harry Potter & The Cursed Child (Sonia Friedman Productions), NSFW (Royal Court) Television Includes: Trying (Apple TV+), Defending The Guilty (Big Talk), Cuckoo, Uncle, Deadbeats (BBC 3), Zapped (Baby Cow/BBC), Ballot Monkeys, Flack (Channel 4), Black Mirror - White Christmas (Channel 4 / Netflix), Cockroaches (ITV2), The Midnight Beast, Skins Redux: Rise, Misfits (E4), The Smoke (Sky), Holby City, Material Girl (BBC) Writing includes: Elephant (BBC) Sharlotta Sophie Stone This is Sophie’s RSC debut Theatre includes: Macbeth (Lyric Hammersmith / ETT), Galatea (Brighton Festival), Othello (Watermill Theatre), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mother Courage and Her Children (National Theatre), As You Like It (Shakespeare’s Globe), Emilia (Shakespeare’s Globe / West End), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Watermill Theatre), Jubilee (Lyric Hammersmith / Manchester Royal Exchange), The Government Inspector (Birmingham Rep / UK Tour), Herons (Lyric Hammersmith), Mine (Shared Experience), Frozen (Birmingham Rep), Two (Southwark Playhouse), The Bloody Great Border Ballad Project (Northern Stage), In Water I’m Weightless (National Theatre of Wales), Pandora (Arcola), Woman Of Flowers (Forest Forge / UK Tour), Multiplex, Fen, You Make Me Happy (When Skies are Grey) (The Watermill) Television includes: Falling, Reunion, Generation Z, The Chelsea Detective, This Way Up, Two Doors Down, Moving On, Shakespeare & Hathaway, Shetland, The Crown, Doctor Who, Mapp and Lucia, Moonstone, Marchlands, Midsomer Murders, Small World, Holby City, Casualty and FM Film includes: Retreat, Name Me Lawand, Retreat, My Christmas Angel, Confessions and Coming Home Other: Sophie Stone is Co-Founder of Deaf & Hearing Ensemble Theatre Company Previous Next Cast Passer-By Rob Alexander-Adams Lopakhin Kenneth Branagh Anya Chumisa Dornford-May Firs Michael Elwyn Trofimov Alfred Enoch Dunyasha Amber Gadd Pishchik Guy Henry Madame Ranyevskaya Helen Hunt Offstage Understudy Erin Siobhan Hutching Yasha Julian Moore-Cook Gaev Bill Pullman Yepikhodov Andy Rush Varya Esther Smith Sharlotta Sophie Stone Creatives Writer Laura Wade Director Tamara Harvey Set & Costume Designer Anna Fleischle Lighting Designer Aideen Malone Composer Laura Rossi Sound Designer Claire Windsor Movement Director Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster Casting Director Charlotte Sutton CDG Fight Director Alex Payne Musical Director Tomek Pieczora Voice and Text Charlie Hughes-D'Aeth Linbury Associate Set & Costume Designer Kezi Ferguson Assistant Director Nathanael Campbell Magic Consultant Just Saul About the Play Cast and Creatives Related Events Assisted Performances More Less About the Play Cast and Creatives Related Events Assisted Performances Content Advisory The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation In This Section About the Play Helen Hunt and Kenneth Branagh feature in Laura Wade’s vital new version of Chekhov’s final play, directed by Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey. Find out more Related Events Find out more about our production of The Cherry Orchard and how it was created, with our series of events. Find out more Assisted Performances Find out about our assisted performances for The Cherry Orchard. Find out more You may also like