Review: Sisters Three

TheatreGoose return to the Fringe with a fresh take on Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece, written and directed by Emma Howlett. Sisters Three presents feminist commentary on the lack of agency, recognition and one-dimensional portrayal of women throughout history, and the male obsession with writing about three sisters.

Olga, Masha and youngest sister Irina, all unlucky in love, are longing for Moscow while contemplating what lies beyond their boring, provincial town. In this production, they escape Chekhov’s framework and dive into a multitude of stories written about women, in order to explore their relationship with each other and, possibly, a different path forward.

“I want things to happen to us, not around us”, Irina says, angry with her sisters for not making more of their lives. Together they find themselves in narratives ranging from Macbeth and the Medusa myth to the Brontë sisters, Little Women and Sugababes, making the audience part of their journey. Some of these stories are not easy to recognise for the uninitiated, some points feel laboured, and the ending is a bit too sentimental. But ultimately Sisters Three is an uplifting play about sisterly love and three women making their own choices to take charge of their own destiny.