Saul Kim's Glass House Set for Simon Stone's 'The Cherry Orchard' Opens at Park Avenue Armory
At the Park Avenue Armory in New York, Saul Kim crafted the set for Simon Stone's version of Anton Chekhov's 'The Cherry Orchard,' originally written in 1904. This adaptation, which debuted on September 16 and will be available until September 26, presents the story in modern Seoul, performed in Korean, and has garnered mixed reviews. Kim's set, characterized as a Modernist glass house, features a white triangular form that resembles a toy mountain. It boasts a concave front for optimal audience sightlines and expansive glass panels that ensure clear views. Kim's vision transforms the house into a representation of generational wealth and memory, manipulating architectural components to form abstract spatial designs.
Key facts
- Saul Kim designed the set for Simon Stone's adaptation of Anton Chekhov's 'The Cherry Orchard' at Park Avenue Armory.
- The production premiered in New York on September 16 and runs through Saturday, September 26 in the Wade Thompson Drill Hall.
- Stone's radically rewritten script is performed in Korean and transposes the play's events from Russia to just outside modern Seoul.
- The set is a Modernist glass house, a graceful white triangle with a stepped-ziggurat shape resembling a toy mountain.
- The front facade was cut in a concave form to ensure audience visibility, and large glass panels were installed without additional window frames.
- Simon insisted on precise acoustics so voices would sound different inside and outside the set.
- The set was completed before Simon finished the script, allowing the design to inspire new anecdotes.
- Kim is an architectural designer, educator, and author of the design study series 'Architecture Anomaly,' based in Seoul.
Entities
Artists
- Saul Kim
- Simon Stone
- Anton Chekhov
- Helen Shaw
- Park Hae-soo
- Jeon Do-yeon
- Billie Piper
- Federico García Lorca
- Rose Byrne
- Bobby Cannavale
- Ian Charleson
- Andrew Scott
- Richard Eyre
- Daniel Day Lewis
- Ernest Hemingway
- Gertrude Stein
Institutions
- Park Avenue Armory
- The New York Times
- LG Arts Center
- Wade Thompson Drill Hall
- Architecture Anomaly
- National Theatre
- Abbey Road Studios
- Telluride Film Festival
- Cannes Film Festival
- Squid Game
- Secret Sunshine
- Chariots of Fire
- Gandhi
- Vanya
- Uncle Vanya
- Yerma
- Medea
- Elsinore
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Seoul
- South Korea
- Russia
- Manhattan
- Paris
- France
- London
- United Kingdom
- Austria
- Switzerland
- Telluride