Produced by TheatreGoose
Review by Jack Quinn
Summerhall Anatomy Lecture Theatre
Looming over the Anatomy Lecture Theatre hangs a canvas sheet, encasing the audience in a night of magical storytelling reminiscent of the March sisters' plays in Little Women. While there are nods to Louisa May Alcott's novel, the heart of Theatre Goose's Sisters Three lies in a reimagining of Anton Chekhov's 1901 play Three Sisters. By inverting Chekhov's title, Sisters Three strips the original play down to its core, focusing solely on the characters of Irina, Masha, and Olga.
Narratively loose in structure, Sisters Three employs magical realism to explore the trope of 'three sisters' across literary history. Conscious of their dramatic existence, Irina, Masha, and Olga have just finished performing their nightly rendition of Three Sisters, referencing key events from Chekhov's play—Tuzenbach's duel, Vershinin's arrival, and the death of their father. However, Theatre Goose's production goes deeper, unlocking subtextual nuances and unspoken conflicts within the original text, such as Irina's disdain for her sisters, Masha's confronting Olga's love for her husband Kulygin, and the ultimate futility of their lives.
In control of the evening's storytelling is Irina, who takes her unwilling sisters back in time, intertwining their narrative with other iconic sisterly trios from Macbeth, the Gorgons, the Brontës, King Lear, and Bluebeard. This intertextual journey allows the audience to explore the roles and fates of women in literature, creating a rich tapestry of sisterhood that transcends time.
Visually, the production enchants and unsettles, with the canvas sheet serving as a ghostly backdrop, enhancing the play's dreamlike quality. The chemistry between the actresses is palpable, making their interactions compelling and heartbreaking.
Sisters Three is a bold and imaginative reinterpretation of Chekhov's work, offering a fresh perspective on the enduring struggles of sisterhood, with literary references which may require an audience to be well versed in the plays and literature they span across, yet the proceedings are still enjoyable and followable for all. Theatre Goose's production not only honours its source material but also challenges the audience to reconsider the narratives we inherit and the roles we are expected to play.
Review by Jack Quinn (contact@corrblimey.uk)
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