Three Sisters, Young Vic - review

Nirvana and iPhones in absurdly good Chekhov
p20 MUST CREDIT: Tristram Kenton Gala Gordon (Irina), Mariah Gale (Olga) and Vanessa Kirby (Masha) in Three Sisters by Anton Chekov @ Young Vic. Directed by Benedict Andrews. (Opening 13-09-12) ©Tristram Kenton 09/12 (3 Raveley Street, LONDON NW5 2HX TEL 0207 267 5550 Mob 07973 617 355)email: tristram@tristramkenton.com
Tristram Kenton
14 October 2013

This unconventional account of Chekhov’s classic play is sure to be divisive. Adapted and directed by Benedict Andrews, the wild prodigy of Sydney theatre, it’s loud and irreverent. Chekhov can be staged with delicate restraint or a flagrant anger and absurdism. Andrews tends towards the latter.

In a remote town the three sisters of the title long to return to Moscow, their native city. The young women are crisply differentiated, as they should be. Mariah Gale’s Olga is pale and almost ghostly. Vanessa Kirby’s glamorous, edgy Masha sings David Bowie’s ‘Golden Years’ as though it is a religious mantra. Excitable Irina – Gala Gordon, making her professional debut – is the family’s fragrant blossom.

Initially, there’s little connection between them; their dialogue is conducted across huge spaces, as if to emphasise a hopeless disunity. Yet gradually their ties become more clear, and the performances are meaty. Kirby is adept at suggesting Masha’s ennui, and Gordon has a darting energy, but the strongest contribution comes from Gale, conveying Olga’s soulfulness as well as a spinsterish resentment.

Andrews elicits equally cogent work from Danny Kirrane as the three women’s financially reckless brother, Sam Troughton as Irina’s admirer Tuzenbach, and William Houston as the bruised and philosophical Colonel Vershinin. All add to the impression that in Chekhov’s world happiness is elusive and life is pathetically transient.

Early on the language, at times abrasively modern, makes the characters’ problems seem banal. There’s not much sense of social context – and certainly no trace of Chekhov’s political context. Instead we hear of hair transplants and biodynamic diets, and an iPhone is used to take photos.

There are some defiantly weird touches: a mass singalong to Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit, a remote-controlled helicopter buzzing over the stage, a spinning top transfixing the characters’ attention and turning them into a frozen tableau. The set is slowly dismantled, too, to suggest the fabric of their society being ravaged.

If you like your Chekhov done in an orthodox style, this isn’t for you. Andrews has come up with a bracingly original vision: he turns the play inside out, bashes it around, and drops in anachronisms, yet his approach yields revelatory results. In the end, against the odds, this is a moving and absorbing Three Sisters.

Until October 13 (020 7922 2922, youngvic.org)

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in