3 Sisters (Salford)

Venue: Barge, Manchester, c/o The Lowry
Where: Castlefield, Manchester

The events in Chekhov’s Three Sisters are re-enacted by the sisters for guests who join them on their journey to Moscow. As their houseboat proceeds tea is served and an explanation made of what caused the reduced circumstances and it becomes clear that one the sisters is under some strain.

Director Tanya Roberts ensures that the houseboat is not used as a novelty but represents futile efforts to escape. The forced intimacy of the limited space gives us a sense of the claustrophobia of provincial life and the boat’s movement creates a feeling of dislocation. Roberts employs a range of imaginative storytelling techniques including shadow puppets and even slapstick but fails to achieve a sutiable air of paranoia.

Carolyn Booth, Josephine Rogers and Jessica Stanley vividly play the sisters and other characters. Their subtle performances offsets the exaggeration that such a limited space promotes. The cast enjoy the opportunity to criticise each other’s acting in true sister style.

Metra Theatre’s atmospheric production struggles under the weight of ambition. Not content to summarise Chekhov’s original they deconstruct the play. The audience are given rapid and occasionally conflicting interpretations of character motivation before they even appear on-stage. Anyone without an awareness of the original could become confused.  

– Dave Cunningham