David Ashton (actor) Cherry Orchard" and then Kulyegin in "The Three Sisters" at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. At the Royal Court Theatre, London, he played John in Christopher Hampton’s The Philanthropist with Alec McCowan, and also appeared in the West End musical Happy as a Sandbag at the Ambassadors Theatre and portrayed Mister Mulleady in Behan’s "The Hostage" at Greenwich Theatre. Most recently, he appeared as Sandy Sheridan in Uncle Varick, John Byrne’s version of Chekhov’s "Uncle Vanya", at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh. He has also taught, directed and lectured at the Central School of Speech and Drama, Rose Bruford College,
The Cherry Orchard her and bring her home to Russia. They are accompanied by Yasha, Ranevskaya's valet who was with her in France. Upon returning, the group is met by Lopakhin, Dunyasha, Varya (who has overseen the estate in Ranevskaya's absence), Leonid Andreyevich Gayev, Boris Borisovich Simeonov-Pishchik, Semyon Yepikhodov, and Firs. Lopakhin has come to remind Ranevskaya and Gayev that their estate, including the cherry orchard, is due to go to auction in August to pay off the family's debts. He proposes to save the estate by allowing part of it to be developed into summer cottages; however, this would require the destruction