Despite Henrik Ibsen's insistence that he was `more of a poet and less of a social philosopher' and Anton Chekhov's intention to make `The Cherry Orchard' into a `light comedy', both `A Doll's House' and `The Cherry Orchard' present themes of social change; the first through a 19th century woman's struggle for self liberation, and the latter through the unfulfilled longings and eventual collapse of a Russian upper class family at the turn of the century.

In both plays the 19th century upper class complacence and reluctance to yield to social evolution perhaps even portray them as victims of social change - in `A Doll's House' through Nora's betrayal of her husband and his social values, and in `The Cherry Orchard' through the family's nostalgia, frustration and disappointment when faced with their unavoidable loss of power and wealth in Russian society.

The two playwrights were born into startlingly...