Review: Andrew Upton's Contemporary Adaptation of Chekhov's THREE SISTERS Is Presented With Economy As It Seeks To Find A Modern Relatability

Friday 10th November 2017, 8pm, Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House

Sydney Theatre Company (STC) brings Anton Chekhov's much-loved tragi-comedy back to the mainstage with Andrew Upton's adaptation of THREE SISTERS, directed by STC's Artistic Director Kip Williams. Pared back imagery and an undefined but more current setting challenges the work to find a new relevance in a more 'modern' world whilst still having a degree of nostalgia for a simpler time.

Whilst Chekhov's original work was set in the late 19th century and early 20th century, inkeeping with its premiere at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1901, Williams and Upton have opted to set the work in an average suburban home with middle class furniture from the 1970's and the ugly fashion of the 1980's. Whilst reference is still made to the sisters being dissatisfied with their small town location and their continued desire to return their hometown of Moscow, their current location is never really defined aside from an amalgam of Australian, English and the odd-Atlantic American accents. This relocation alters the story somewhat, making the reason for the Sergeyevna sister's longing for their home a little more ambiguous as they now occupy a middle class average home in a town inexplicably temporarily occupied by the military. They are still wealthy enough to retain a housekeeper Anfisa (Melita Jurisic) even though the only income seems to come from eldest sister Olga's (Alison Bell) teaching salary and brother Andrei's (Brandon McClelland) language interpretation services as youngest sister Irina (Miranda Daughtry) has not commenced gainful employment when we first meet the family. Whilst it is clear that Irina and middle sister Masha (Eryn Jean Norvill) are both dissatisfied with their lives which lack purpose and love respectively, Olga's issues are less pronounced as are Andrei's apart from his one moment of realisation that he's married a vile social climbing opportunist in the form of the tacky narcissistic Natasha (Nikki Shiels). The middle class setting also makes the perpetual presence of the military men in the home somewhat odd.

To give the work a timeframe, Designer Alice Babidge has clothed Olga and Irina in a collection of unflattering 'mom jeans' and ugly sweaters whilst Masha remains in a constant state of mourning over their dead father in a semi-translucent black dress and cowboy boots. Interloper and social climber Natasha is attired in a range of utterly ghastly outfits that indicate her unsophisticated origins (think Married with Children's Peg Bundy) ensuring that she stands out from the Sergeyevna siblings. The military officers are dressed in a more European uniform until they settle into the house as regular guests and the soldiers sport a more universal look of the lower ranks, in uniform and in civvies.

With a characteristically minimalist set, Babidge indicates that the family's money is 'old money' without the ability for many new furniture with the use of an economic amount of 70's furniture set on a stage that for the first two acts is dominated by the mirrored window backdrop that allows views into the dining room and 'garden' when Nick Schlieper's lighting allows. As with the family's attire, the furniture is not of any great value but does include a piano reflecting the education that the four children grew up with. Babidge doesn't disguise the scene changes with deliberate but smooth transitions effected by the ensemble leading up to the final sparse scene where unusual effort has gone to make the space look like a bare box stage with panelling bordering the expanse that only includes the remnants of a tree and a couple of plastic chairs.

Given that Sport for Jove (SFJ) presented THREE SISTERS for the smaller Independent theatre stage last year, it was interesting to compare STC's choice to use an adaptation of the work compared to a translation of the work which didn't seek to change the work apart from ensure the translation sat easily enough for the Australian ear. Chekhov's work has a delightful comic quality amongst the homesickness, disappointment with life and distractions people find to cope but William's interpretation of Upton's adaptation relies more on physical humour which wears a little thin and detracts from the dialogue. Playing down the text, focus is drawn to Olga's preparations for Irina's party and Masha's bizarre, almost silent behaviour which allude to the possibility that she is self-medicating to escape from her boring marriage and unfulfilled life. The impact of Olga's fatigue is reduced and the 'contemporary' setting makes the audience less sympathetic to Irina's desire to work and her subsequent dissatisfaction at the quality of employment. In early 20th century Russia it was understandable that young women of a certain social standing didn't necessarily work, intending to marry well and become housewives instead but in late 20th century western culture, it is expected that anyone that has completed their education regardless of which level they achieved, would be engaged in some form of employment.

As the sisters Alison Bell, Eryn Jean Norvill and Miranda Daughtry do the best they can with the material but the odd accents which also morph during the show does make the relationship between the three a little hard to believe as none of the accents match, something that would occur at least to some level between people who spend so much time together. Bell gives Olga the nervousness of someone trying to keep the family together whilst needing to fill any silence with noise. Daughtry captures Irina's innocence and growth as she rebels against the social expectation that she settle down and find a suitable husband. Norvill's expression of Masha is a little obscure to start until it is made clear that her disengagement and flightiness is driven by her dissatisfaction with her hasty choice in a husband whom she once thought intelligent but has discovered is really dull, opting to distract herself with hilarious physicality with the older Vershinin (Mark Leonard Winter) who is equally unsatisfied with his marriage. As brother Andrei, Brandon McClelland presents a sap who never lives up to anyone's expectations of him and instead seeks to avoid the women in his life. Whilst Andrei breaks down in the third act and asks for forgiveness for the debt and destruction, in the form of his poor choice of wife, from his sisters, he's never really seen as contrite enough to elicit much sympathy.

Of the characters that surround the family, Harry Greenwood is the standout as Irina's suitor Tusenbach as he presents the aristocratic lieutenant with a foppish uselessness, of one having inherited his commission rather worked for it. He ensures that Tusenbach's devotion to Irina is endearing so that the audience sees the contrast between the man who will do anything, including having to actually work, to win Irina's affections and the obnoxious hot headed Solyony, presented with a dangerous brooding antisocial demeanour by Rahel Romahn. Winter presents Vershinin with a single minded obsession with being around Masha which leaves Little Room for any sympathy in relation to his unhappy domestic situation and Anthony Brandon Wong isn't quite convincing in his portrayal of the army doctor who is supposed to be eccentric but deteriorating with alcohol and gambling addiction due to his loss of direction and purpose. As with Norvill and Daughtry's performance, Wong's delivery is also too studied, showing the formal training rather than a more realistic natural style that one would expect from Upton's dialogue that utilises more natural speech patterns and language.

Whilst this production of THREE SISTERS is an interesting adaptation and interpretation of Chekhov's work, it seems to have lost some of the impact in turning it into a more current story rather than presenting it as a reflection on how much society has change and hasn't. Having the militia taking over a town and being constant visitors in a family home doesn't seem all that realistic in a contemporary setting and the significance of having the young men being entertained by a house of women is outmoded in a modern world where women are more independent, no longer reliant on advantageous marriages. Without an explanation of why the sisters could not return to Moscow, their longing for the homeland without any action to move also seems odd in the modern world where, provided homelands are safe to return to, people have much freer ability to move around the world. Some things however remain constant through time such as the pressure of expectations can lead to unwise decisions and carnal desire still leads to unfaithfulness, but unsuitable marriages are more likely to be dissolved rather than endured in the modern world.

THREE SISTERS

Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House

6 November - 16 December 2017

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