Chekhov: The Other Three Sisters

“Chekhov: The Other Three Sisters” — a production by ETO Theater

There is always a certain playfulness in Chekhov’s work, even when it deals with serious themes. We see a vivid description of Dushechka’s first love, a theatrical businessman, which Chekhov colors with comic tones. The characters at Anyuta’s ball resemble the heroes of Anton Chekhov’s humorous stories: a brave general, a wealthy Armenian, a prince with trembling hands and shining eyes. There are also Poprygunya’s friends: an artist who considers himself a genius and an actor putting on airs (“The fat man is obviously an actor”), alongside the “patches of color” of the guests invited to the country house.

Chekhov refers to even his serious plays with a smile as comedies. The same approach is found in the play “Chekhov: The Other Three Sisters,” where the seriousness of the plot is accompanied by the director’s and composer’s sparkling humor, heightened by the live music of a violin capable of both laughing and crying.

Is our life really made up only of sadness? Are we, the inhabitants of these places, incapable of laughter and joy?

Directed by Vladimir Orenov, winner of the Golden Mask theater award.

Cast: Svetlana Demidova (Gesher Theater), Vera Orenova, Yevgeny Zaitsev.
Violinist: Arkady Klein.