Three Sisters / Edition 1

by Anton Chekhov, Michael Frayn

Overview

You'd be hard put to find a better script to work with than this translation by Michael Frayn . . . It sticks rigorously to the inner thrust of the play while giving it a fresh, crisp clarity that makes it not just accessible but compelling to watch. The underlying tragedy . . . is intact. It is made more moving, not less, by the way Frayn's ineffably light touch has caught too the comedy of Andrey and his three sisters.' GUARDIAN

'Frayn puts well the central statement of this most moving of dramas: it is about the irony of the hopes by which people live and the way their destiny mocks them. Chekhov shows how life is both nourished and poisoned by the act of hope itself' DAILY TELEGRAPH

Following their father's death, life for sisters Olga, Masha and Irina in a Russian provincial garrison town has become unbearably dull. They feel they have become culturally, romantically and intellectually starved. To these sisters, Moscow, where they once lived and in spite of its sad memories, has become a symbol of unfulfilled hope, promises and opportunity, and one which contrasts with the tedium of their own lives and circumstances. The sisters' main hope of moving to Moscow depends on their brother, Andrey, with his ambitions to work in academia in Moscow.

Set over three and a half years at the turban of the twentieth century, and premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1901, Chekhov's play has become among the most iconic in modern theatre.

This translation is by Michael Frayn, one of today's most eminent British playwrights and translators of Russian drama.

Commentary and notes by Nick Worrall.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780413771407
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/15/2008
Series:	Modern Plays
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	875,639
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.48(d)

About the Author

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was one of the most prominent Russian writers of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Initially writing to support his income as a physician, he gained widespread acclaim as a short story writer and playwright and his work has had a profound influence on modern drama. His plays include Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.

Michael Frayn is an award-winning British playwright, novelist and translator. His translations of Chekhov's plays have been acclaimed and widely performed.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Right up there with the best ever Three Sisters (by Laurence Olivier, Jonathan Miller, Trevor Nunn, Field Day and the Katona Josef in Budapest) but a sensational breakthrough and a poetic revelation at the same time, and in its own gloriously idiosyncratic manner." – Michael Coveney, What’s On Stage (5 stars)

"Andrews has come up with a bracingly original vision: he turns the play inside out, bashes it around, and drops in anachronisms, yet his approach yields revelatory results. In the end, against the odds, this is a moving and absorbing Three Sisters" – Evening Standard

"This version does not set out to endear itself to traditionalists… has a jagged energy and a powerful sense of conviction" – The Independent

"Energising, modern… grabs some of the most thorny Chekhov questions about human existence with a firm unsentimental grip" – Huffington Post

"Profoundly moving… this is Chekhov refreshed and reimagined." – Guardian

"One of the most exciting Chekhovs in years… often hilarious yet, crucially, full of moments of stillness and pain" – Metro

"The textbook opposite of a cosy West End revival… gives a chill distillation of a comfortless vision present in the original" – The Telegraph

"Traditionalists may fulminate, but I was blown away." – Daily Mail

"A commendable job of reinvigorating the play, making it readily accessible by injecting the dialogue with suitably modern concepts." – London Theatre

Editorial Reviews

We value [Chekhov] for his juxtaposition of comedy and emotional pain, his penetration into character and his understanding of the eternal truths of human nature.” —Telegraph

From the Publisher

"Pevear and Volokhonsky are at once scrupulous translators and vivid stylists of English."

New Yorker

"Pevear and Volokhonsky are at once scrupulous translators and vivid stylists of English."

New Yorker

Ivan R. Dee's excellent discussions are recommended.... Among the best of recent publications: a new adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is provided by Dorothy Louise: while it remains faithful to her intentions, Frankenstein's new look tailors a play for performance and provides a strong plot suitable for contemporary drama. Similarly does Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, with Curt Columbus providing the new translation and Nicholas Rudall and Bernard Sahlins working their editing magic on both productions.

Library Bookwatch

Senelick . . . has done his job as scholar and translator nearly to perfection.

Weekly Standard

The full-cast performance of THREE SISTERS is a delightful and immediately rewarding experience. The listener vicariously enjoys the stage production along with the audience in the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, savoring sound effects that are enlightening and never overpowering. The performers contribute to the strong interpretation, achieving an ideal pace and lively interaction. Vibrant and educated Russian sisters long to escape the dull rural regions of the land and to return to the thrilling, animated life in Moscow. After their father's death, they achieve their desired relocation—with dire consequences—as the period's history proves. A.W. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2011 - AudioFile