The National Theatre on London’s South Bank is renowned for its world-class productions, including the 2011 Tony winner War Horse and Danny Boyle’s recent adaptation of Frankenstein. Plane tickets to Heathrow aren’t cheap, but for a mere $20, theater fans across the pond can see National Theatre productions onscreen at SIFF through National Theatre Live.

Wrapping up the 2010–2011 season of National Theatre Live is The Cherry Orchard, Anton Chekhov’s final play. The early 20th-century dramedy (sure, they had ’em back then) follows a formerly wealthy Russian family’s struggle to hold on to its estate in the face of massive debt. The National Theatre’s production includes a reworked script by Andrew Upton, and the new version hasn’t won many fans—a Telegraph critic claimed Upton should be “taken out of the theatre and thrown into the Thames along with his script.” The problem? Upton’s addition of British phrases like “bollocks” and “bloody friggin” that pull the play out of prerevolutionary Russia, muting the eerie soundtrack of a collapsing social structure.

Despite the script’s weaknesses, critics have praised The Cherry Orchard as an overall success due to wonderful acting and beautiful design. Zoë Wanamaker’s portrayal of aging matriarch Ranevskaya was called “magnificent” by The Independent, with “an anticipatory touch of the self-amused drama queens of Tennessee Williams.”

Tickets are still available, but showings of the other National Theatre Live productions at SIFF sold out in advance, so get your tickets early.

The Cherry Orchard screens Monday, July 18, at 7:30 at SIFF Cinema. Tickets are $15–$20, available at siff.net.