Photo: John JohnstonIt’s the not-so-swinging sixties in a Dunoon naval base. Three sisters, Olive, Maddy, and Renee have spent the last eleven years looking longingly across the Clyde Estuary. Surrounded by military suitors, overbearing in-laws, and worthy Presbyterians, they yearn for London’s Carnaby Street and the love, culture and thrills they are denied in Argyllshire. Will they ever escape? Read more …
Following his acclaimed adaptations of The Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya, John Byrne (Tutti Frutti, The Slab Boys) turns his attention to Chekhov’s tragi-comedy about dashed hopes and unrequited love, in this brand new show for Tron Theatre Company.
A perfect piece for the Autumn season.
Muireann Kelly, Sally Reid and Jessica Hardwick are three of Sotland’s finest actresses; and they play Chekhov’s great drama with an open-hearted, risk-taking courage he would surely have loved, in a rich, playful and memorable production.
The performances by the lead actresses and the evocative stage design ensure that this imagining of the Three Sisters is memorable, witty and touching.
The immediate sense of comedy is comforting but quickly diminishes to the overwhelming sadness of dashed hopes and failures in the sisters’ darkest hours.
Byrne laces his reimagining of Chekhov with baroque linguistic flourishes and an underlying pathos that accentuates a set of nuanced but never naturalistic performances from Arnold's ten-strong ensemble.
The attempt at a surreal interlude is less successful, and the pace lingers a little too long on the anguish in the second half. Nevertheless, this Three Sisters is a respectful wallow in Chekhov's tragic temperament, and the ensemble add a theatrical pleasure to the emotional pain.
Director Andy Arnold does the adaptation tremendous justice in a beautifully controlled staging that’s loaded with fine performances.
There are real, complex emotions on stage, portrayed effectively and sympathetically, in a way that is never easy but is always involving and ultimately uplifting.
Dark comedy and the real possibility of tragic results from well-intentioned actions lie at the heart of much of Chekhov’s work, and Byrne brings both these aspects to the fore.
The Three Sisters given distinct Scottish twist by playwright John Byrne
John Byrne--Three Sisters
Tron Theatre, Glasgow from Wednesday October 1, 2014, until Saturday October 18, 2014. More info: www.tron.co.uk
King's Theatre, Edinburgh from Tuesday October 21, 2014, until Saturday October 25, 2014. More info: http://www.edtheatres.com/kings
RSS feed of Theatre reviews