Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, is the third of the quartet of great plays that he wrote in the last years of his short life. The three sisters live in a provincial Russian town, a long way from Moscow, where they grew up and where they long to return to. But weighed down by their circumstances, as well as their own inertia, and misplaced ideals and affections, they fail to realise their dream to escape their provincial existence.Three Sisters is a challenging dramatic masterpiece, a symphonic study of the search for purpose and love, and of profound personal disappointment.
Three Sisters opened in January 1901 at the Moscow Arts Theatre, where Chekhov’s previous two major plays, The Seagull and Uncle Vanya had been performed. The production was co-directed by the influential co-founder of the theatre, Konstantin Stanislavski, who also appeared in it, as did Olga Knipper, whom Chekhov had written the part of the middle sister, Masha, for, and whom he married that same year. As we record this episode a spellbinding new production has opened in the Sam Wanamaker theatre at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre in London. The candlelit stage of the Sam Wanamaker provides a transporting setting for the flickering dreams of the three sisters and their suitors.
I’m absolutely delighted to be able to talk to the writer responsible for the translation of the text of the play being performed at the Globe, playwright Rory Mullarkey.
We have also covered Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya and The Seagull on the podcast. Listen here:
002 – Uncle Vanya
052 – The Seagull
Musical extract in this episode is from Chopin: Nocturne No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No. 1 – Elisabeth Leonskaja
