Greg Carroll’s rendition of Anton Chekhov’s classic play, Three Sisters, invites audiences into the lives of four siblings as they navigate the passing of their father in Moscow. Carroll provides a modern perspective and allows audiences to connect with the three sisters and their brother through struggles with marriage, adultery and financial despair. However, at times this modernisation isn’t enough, with there being a clear lack of tangible grief in this performance. This Theatre Works production, produced by Dianne Toulson, stars Stella Carroll (Irina), Joanna Halliday (Marsha), Mia Landgren (Olga) and Ty McKenzie (Andrei).

Three Sisters rests on the guarantee that the audience will care for its characters. One doesn’t attend this play for its costumes, set design, or score, but for the emotional warmth, and subsequent pain, that comes from connecting with the ensemble. I felt this production underdelivered on this expectation, though I do believe Carroll’s cast delivered in terms of performance and chemistry. Scenes with the whole cast together were the highlight of the play. Specifically, during the later parts of Act 1 where everyone gathers for dinner together and engages in separate, simultaneous fits of laughter and conversation. The energy from these moments filled the theatre with comfort and nostalgia. It felt as if we were peering through the window of a stranger’s house, realising that there is joy in simple, intimate family dinners.

This sentimental feeling was further emulated through the lighting of the production. During the dinner scenes, the windows glowed a blue light, alluding to the Moscow winter outside. This acted as a sharp contrast to the warm, yellow lighting of the house’s interior, which housed the play’s moments of love and hope. Conversely, the characters’ hardships mainly unfolded later in the play, outside in the blue winter. Carroll’s lighting choices highlighted the emotional intensity of the play and enhanced the audience’s connection with his characters.

Gabriel Partington’s performance as lieutenant colonel Vershinin encapsulated the raw emotion of this play and invited audiences into the world of these characters. The multifaceted character’s marriage has fallen ill, contaminated with attempted suicide, adultery, and dread. Despite this, Vershinin remains hopeful, which Partington compellingly captured. Vershinin’s hearty monologues were Partington’s strength and added depth to his performance. Partington’s depiction made me certain he was imagining scenes of joy, solely from the emotion his gaze portrayed.

On more practical terms, I did appreciate how accessible this play was to audience members. Live closed captions made the dialogue more accessible to those with access requirements, and others who needed clarification around some of the old fashioned dialogue. The audience was a melting pot of age groups, demonstrating the production’s ability to entertain across demographics. The play’s humour mostly landed, with the audience very receptive to the plot of Carroll’s work. Props were used to involve the audience, such as when Syd Brisbane’s character, Ferapont, handed a letter to an audience member during the performance. All of these subtle factors worked together to entertain every person sitting in the audience. There is no greater joy than watching a play where the entire audience is engaged, strengthening the enjoyability of Three Sisters.

Despite these little successes, it did feel as if there wasn’t enough grief in this production. Although this production’s description does mention how this play takes place after the death of the siblings’ father, this element seemed to be lacking from the narrative. Whether this lies in the faults of cast performances, the script, or director’s choices, I found I forgot the characters were grieving. There are gaps in plot, and rash unexplained character choices that would’ve possibly been clarified if said grief was mentioned.

Grief is one of the most powerful emotions when storytelling. It makes us empathise with characters, encouraging self-reflection. Grief should’ve been one of the main themes in the play, and although it was clear the characters were in pain, it wasn’t always apparent that these characters had lost someone dear to them. Three Sisters explicitly references mourning in the dialogue, but fails to capture the essence of grief. This failure halts the audiences’ ability to immerse themselves deeper in the play’s universe. I walked out of the theatre pleased with the production, but I didn’t feel impacted by it. I didn’t find myself pondering about this production, which is an extreme disappointment given how much potential I saw for this cast and play. A performance with themes, characters, and plot as emotionally heavy as Three Sisters, should’ve had a fundamental impact on me. Overall, Greg Carroll’s Three Sisters did succeed when utilising its set design, however this wasn’t enough to fulfil its storytelling duties of conveying the production’s tale of grief.

Photography credit: Steven Mitchell Wright