A literary classic will be brought to life next week when the BMDS presents a rendition of Anton Chekhov's play, "The Cherry Orchard'' at Daylesford Theatre, beginning on Monday night.

Well established British director Jane McCulloch has moulded the turn-of-the-century masterpiece, from a new translation by her, into an ensemble piece that promises to offer an enriching experience for both audience and actors.

The play, set in pre-revolutionary Russia, presents a story based around the theme of change and transition.

It is told through the eyes of an aristocratic family whose property, including the cherry orchard of the title, is changing hands from them to the emerging peasant class, or Serfs, who are gradually becoming more predominant in Imperial Russian society.

Actress Kate Huntington, who plays Anya, described how she felt about theatre-goers coming to watch on opening night.

"I'm really looking forward to having the energy of the audience in here.

There's a lot of funny stuff in it and it'll be interesting to see how people react.'' She added: "It's a great play because, although its about a hundred years old, it's still pertinent to the times we're in. The theme of change is a very topical issue these days.'' Mr. Woolgar said he felt the entire experience had been "very positive'' and went on to talk about his character, Yasha, who is, apparently, "the only really unpleasant one of the lot''.

"The play is a very character-driven piece. It was great having such an individual, such an interesting part so that I could really get into it and live it.'' Asked how it had been working with this particular director, Ms Huntington said: "It's been great. It's a real pleasure to work with a director like Jane.'' She continued: "Sometimes directors treat the actors like puppets on strings, controlling everything they do. Jane is someone who very much guides you but who also lets you put your own ideas into the work as well.'' Working on a completely different aspect of the production was set designer and co-builder Ian Record, who worked on sets for Les Miserables and Anything Goes , both performed at City Hall earlier this year.

He described his ideas on how the space would be used in putting across a play that was "so dependent on its text''.

"The play has three different scenes so what I wanted to do was a constant set piece which stayed throughout the whole play.

"As a result the walls and entrances and exits stay the same but the views behind it, sometimes of the cherry orchard, change to denote that its a different scene.

Mr. Record explained that he wanted to design a set that would "do justice to the cast'' and simply "frame the action so the audience wouldn't be distracted from the words.'' He added: "This sort of play is the type of theatre I really like because it presents a challenge. There are an awful lot of people who have seen it before and it encourages me to come up with something fresh and original.'' The set designer mentioned two people who put in a lot of work on the set.

They were Richard Klesnicks, who helped in the construction and John Mills who painted the set.

In summing up, Mr. Record said: "I'm really looking forward to see it all come together on opening night. This sort of production is all about teamwork.'' The Cherry Orchard will run from Monday October 25 until Saturday October 30, beginning at 8 p.m.

Tickets are available at the Daylesford Theatre Box Office, which will be open on performance nights from 7 until 8 p.m. at $15 each.

Top play: Jo Shane (sitting) and Kate Huntington (kneeling) in The Cherry Orchard.