Three Sisters - Globe Theatre
It doesn’t always seem easy to understand a complex human being. People are complex, yes, but to write a complex character is a whole other art form. In Three Sisters, translated by Rory Mullarky and directed by Caroline Steinbeis, they honored these characters beyond simple casting and performance, through subtext.
To then take these characters and translate them seems almost like magic, like working toward a special award that allows you to understand and interpret them anew. Rory Mullarky seems to understand the art of saying one thing while truly meaning another.
This play feels like everything, all those anxieties in the back of your head, all those moments when you lie because the truth is too hard to face. Masha, played by Shannon Tarbet, is faced with a question of love. She is trapped in a marriage by design and struck even harder by the realization of loving someone versus being in love with someone. What is passion? What is desire? What is a need versus a want? These are all themes embedded in the very crust of Three Sisters.
The stage begins simply, with a few instruments and candles hanging above. But this is not a simple show; everything is intricate. This was my first Chekhov, and it certainly will not be my last. Each candle being extinguished as the show grew darker, until they had to carry a candle in Act Three, was beautiful.
While yes, it is blocking, it almost felt like choreography with the turning of the chandeliers and the movements of the actors around one another. Olga, performed by Michelle Terry, was wonderful, though she did not capture my attention as much as Masha and Irina, played by Ruby Thompson. Irina slowly became a character full of desire for a different life in Moscow, wanting to return but being pulled toward a man who offers stability.
This progression from “work, work, work” to never wanting to work again felt so strikingly real. None of these characters felt like actors on stage; they became transformative beings who fully inhabited their roles.
Masha’s affair with Vershinin, the married officer, would not normally interest me, since affairs in literature often feel flimsy. But the way this was written, it feels as though Masha is scratching the surface in desperation. She just wants to be seen. She is trapped in a marriage where Feodor Kulygin is not a bad man, but rather one who ignores her agony.
There is a moment after Vershinin leaves when Kulygin lets his wife mourn the loss of her lover, repeatedly saying, “It’s okay. I’m so happy,” as if this happiness were real. Masha is stuck in a love without passion, where nothing is ever allowed to lead to anger or disruption. It is infuriating, especially knowing that she does not even fully understand her own longing for change.
These moments, where Feodor must leave because his wife is hurting, and Masha lashes out at everyone, show an intricate display of subtext. Everyone is confused by her outburst, when it is clear she is heartbroken because the man she loves has returned to his wife. Meanwhile, she remains unseen by her own husband.
Irina fares no better. She chooses a life with Tuzanbakh, played by Michael Abubakar, as a means of reaching Moscow, her dream of work and a better life. She embodies the feeling of always wanting to grow up, only to be filled with dread once you realize that rushing adulthood means this is now your life.
The live music intertwines beautifully with the candles and the shift into Act Four, where daylight breaks, the windows lower, and light pours in.
These complex characters are given a stage as beautiful as the writing itself. The buildup, the lighting, and the dialogue all led to the ending. And yet, the ending felt disappointing. It was confusing, as if everyone wanted to keep going, but instead, we were left with the sound of a bell and a hug that felt too simple, too straightforward.
After all the layered meanings in the conversations, the ending felt almost too plain and too open-ended.
Still, Three Sisters has become one of my favorite plays, even if this production’s ending left me wanting more.
