Three Sisters at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

Written in 1900 and first performed the following year, eminent Russian writer Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters shines bright in Shakespeare’s Globe.

Coming to life amidst the slowly burning candles at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse – a perfect venue for Chekhov’s 19^th-century classic – the eldest of the Prozorov sisters, Olga (Michelle Terry) exclaims, “Father died just over a year ago, on this very day.” She marks student papers, while the youngest Irina (Ruby Thompson) awaits her saint’s day celebrations, with Masha (Shannon Tarbet) inconspicuously reading a book in the corner.

From its onset, lines are infused with a darkly delicious humour, thanks to Rory Mullarkey’s iridescent translation that sparkles off the stage. They are soon visited by an old family friend, Ivan Chebutykin (Peter Wight) who brings a samovar for Irina but is rejected for its exorbitance. Not far behind, are crazed army captain Vassily Solyony (Richard Pyros) – who behaves well when with one person, but turns into an outrageous pseudo-Richard III with others – and baron Tuzenbach (Michael Abubakar) making a full house. When the tragic “lovesick major” Aleksander Vershinin (Paul Ready) appears, surprising the siblings, he recalls their parents, but not them. Ready’s lines and delivery are an absolute joy, and get evermore hilarious as the play continues; (unsurprising given that Ready played a very similar role in BBC’s Motherland). The teacher from the local school Fyodor Kulygin (Keir Charles) is also unwittingly funny, and holds education in such a high regard he has to reference Latin at every given moment. 

The three sisters’ temperaments differ; Olga is an exhausted but determined leader, Masha is the strong-willed romantic, and Irina idealises work, but ultimately becomes disillusioned, producing healthy howls of laughter from the crowd. All three fuss over their only brother, Andrei Sergeyevich (Stuart Thompson) who is ready to take the role of faculty professor in Moscow, but fails. His wife Natalya Ivanovna (Natalie Klamar) also has a distinct character arc, starting off as the subject of mockery, deemed highly unsuitable for Andrei, who then becomes a domineering manipulative mistress of the house.

The cast’s monologues are charming, while director Caroline Steibeis utilises the entire space, where even the technical aspects are perfectly merged within the piece. The play’s memorable philosophies remind us that life, fragile as it may be with moments of deep grief, also possesses glimmers of hope. The existentialism isn’t kitsch, but beautifully rendered, suffused with reflective wisdom on the human condition, mortality, and the future.

Chekhov’s progressive drama and Mullarkey’s interpretation to the stage are nothing short of masterful.

Selina Begum
Photos: Johan Persson

Three Sisters is at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse from 14^th February until 19^th April 2025. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.