FROM Sybil Fawlty to Madame Ranevskaya - Prunella Scales's performance at Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre on Monday was proof, not that any was needed, that she is more than equal to any part.

There were some fine performances in the English Touring Theatre production of The Cherry Orchard but hers stood out as pure class.

Anton Chekhov's classic meditation about loss, hope, time and fate remains one of the 20th Century's greatest theatrical achievements.

Anyone unfamiliar with the names of the characters may have found it difficult towards the beginning of the play, since the cast all call each other by several names throughout.

The blame for that can hardly be apportioned to the company, however, as it is a trait quite specific to Chekhov's work.

So too is the amount of social comment in the play, set in 1904, with themes such as age, the past, the future, liberalism and pride all discussed at some length as a secondary diversion from the main plot.

The gist of which consists of Madame Ranevskaya (Scales) returning to her childhood home only to be told that she must sell the estate to pay off her debts.

While she and her brother Leonid (John Quentin) wrestle with coming to terms with the loss of their home, Chekhov examines the social scene of Russia in 1904, dramatising the clash between the old values of the 19th Century and the new ones of the 20th.

With themes such as these, it would be easy for this production, directed by Stephen Unwin, to be heavy-handed and difficult.

But the dialogue, taken from Stephen Mulrine's new translation of the classic, is sharp and crisp and enough is made of the lighter moments in the play to make this an absolute joy to watch.

Prunella Scales is stunning in the main part of the fallen landowner, her passion breath-taking and, while the performances of the rest of the cast are more than decent, her intense professionalism makes her stand head and shoulders above anyone else.

The other characters, while part of the same musical structure, are all unique and the cast have brilliantly singled out each character's traits.

John Quentin is notable as the kindly but ineffective Leonid, as is Madame Ranevskaya's two daughters, hopeful Anya (Octavia Walters) and constantly distressed Varya (Sarah Malin).

Michael Feast, as the peasant-turned-merchant Yermolai Lopakhin, who tries to persuade Ranevskaya to lease out her land, is also excellent.

The rural location is brought brilliantly to the audience, the sparse sets conjuring up perfectly the relatively poor scenes from a turn of the century Russian country home.

There is so much worth studying in Chekhov's masterpiece alone but for anyone who wants to simply enjoy the perfect production of a true classic, this is it.