Drei Schwestern (Three Sisters)

A glasshouse straight from the wish list of affluent children: This is where director Simon Stone sets Chekhov’s “Three Sisters”. A modern ambience, accessible from all sides, thanks to a revolving stage. Only for seconds, if that, does the façade block the audience’s view of arguments and sex and boozing sessions – because that’s what goes on in this most contemporary Chekhov adaptation the theatre has seen for a long time. Stone completely re-wrote the dialogue and fitted his characters with a modern-day skin, while retaining Chekhov’s story and conflict constellation, his tragicomedy, melancholy, longing and pain. The excellent Basel acting company enhances the triviality of events surrounding Irina’s birthday party by also acting out the phoniness of the daily soap set in the sisters’ holiday home. Triviality is a thin, transparent protective cover. Underneath, the characters wear nothing but naked despair. And the scars of their fruitless search for happiness.

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