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'In a remote town, Olga, Masha and Irina dream of excitement, freedom and romance, but it seems heartbreak is all they’re going to get.
'Young and full of ambition, Irina wants to have a real purpose – to work, to give back. Masha, stuck in what has become a loveless marriage, wants to feel the electric rush of passion once more. While Olga, the eldest, gives and gives until there is almost nothing left.
'Set across a span of several years, Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece reveals the hopes, the loves and the sacrifices of its three sisters and the many people who cross their paths. In a world falling apart at the seams, people will go on living, loving and laughing. The human heart beats strong even in a vacuum.
'Andrew Upton’s compelling new adaptation preserves the essential spirit of this beloved classic, and delves into the lives of these brilliant young women with a contemporary sensibility.' (Production summary)
Notes
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An adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters.
Production Details
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Presented by Sydney Theatre Company. Performed at Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House : 6 November - 16 December 2017.
Director: Kip Williams.
Designer: Alice Babidge.
Lighting Designer: Nick Schlieper.
Cast includes Alison Bell (Olga), Miranda Daughtry (Irina), Eryn Jean Norvil (Masha), Peter Carroll (Phillip), Callan Colley (Rode), Harry Greenwood (Tusenbach), Melita Jurisic (Anfisa), Brandon McClelland (Andre), Rahel Romahn (Solyony), Chris Ryan (Kulygin), Nikki Shiels (Natasha), Mark Leonard Winter (Vershinin), Anthony Brandon Wong (Chebutkin), and Charles Wu (Fedotik).
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Three Sisters (Sydney Theatre Company)
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 397 2017; (p. 66) ABR : Arts 2017;'After decades of English-language Chekhov productions following in the footsteps of Stanislavsky and Komisarjevsky in which historically accurately costumed actors wandered around a stage awash with gloom and torpor declaiming Constance Garnett’s constipated translations, directors finally discovered that the plays were strong enough to be removed from their original place and period. Janet Suzman’s magnificent Cherry Orchard (1997) transported the play to contemporary South Africa and Michael Blakemore, in his film Country Life (1994), showed that Uncle Vanya could work if it were transposed to Western Australia. Recently, Benedict Andrews’s modernised Three Sisters at the Young Vic (2012) was well received. Now the Sydney Theatre Company is presenting its own updated version. One is as unlikely to see a samovar in a contemporary Chekhov production as a horned helmet in a modern production of Wagner’s Ring.' (Introduction)
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Three Sisters (Sydney Theatre Company)
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 397 2017; (p. 66) ABR : Arts 2017;'After decades of English-language Chekhov productions following in the footsteps of Stanislavsky and Komisarjevsky in which historically accurately costumed actors wandered around a stage awash with gloom and torpor declaiming Constance Garnett’s constipated translations, directors finally discovered that the plays were strong enough to be removed from their original place and period. Janet Suzman’s magnificent Cherry Orchard (1997) transported the play to contemporary South Africa and Michael Blakemore, in his film Country Life (1994), showed that Uncle Vanya could work if it were transposed to Western Australia. Recently, Benedict Andrews’s modernised Three Sisters at the Young Vic (2012) was well received. Now the Sydney Theatre Company is presenting its own updated version. One is as unlikely to see a samovar in a contemporary Chekhov production as a horned helmet in a modern production of Wagner’s Ring.' (Introduction)
