THREE SISTERS, Chekhov, Orange Tree, in rep till 13 April

THE THREE SISTERS: Anton Chekhov, trans Carol Rocamora
Orange Tree: Tkts, 020 8940 3633
Runs: 3h, one interval. Till 26 February, then in rep till 13 April
Review: Vera Lustig, 6 February

Handsome, luminous, moving production of this great play. Yet again, the Orange Tree proves the merits of long-term ensemble workIt's a rare pleasure to see Chekhov in an intimate space. A mite startling, too: Solyony's menacing pursuit of Irina seems larger-than-life here, like the suicide in Hedda Gabler. It's apt that the altercation leading to the duel takes place near the town's theatre.

Vershinin's great speeches, revealing his existential angst, fit snugly behind a proscenium arch. Here, in a space smaller than those it represents, Vershinin's ruminations sound desperately grandiose, for all his practised urbanity. Stuart Fox gets it just right. He is everything Masha's school-teacher husband Kulygin (a sweet-natured Jason Baughan) is not. Fox's voice has a scalp-prickling resonance; he has the graciousness of a man who knows he is among inferiors.

That is the beauty of Sam Walters's production: it is meticulous, yet lets the play breathe. The confined space liberates it. This is a play about time passing too slowly yet too fast. Significantly, it is a treasured clock that the drunken Chebutykin accidentally smashes.

I have never seen a more quietly impressive Andrey than David Antrobus. He is flattened, blanched, a man of unrealised potential. It's as though the siblings' desultory, seemingly casual recollections of a father who 'tyrannised' them pointed to an ugly reality.

Anna Hewson's regal Olga is quenched too. In the opening scene, she paces the room, marking exercise books which she holds to her breast, speaking in a rushed, perfunctory tone, as though the family reminiscences were an oft-repeated, comforting litany.

There is precious little comfort to be found. The offstage sounds, and a birch-branch suspended above the stage remind us of the world beyond the Prozorov household. Even as the three bereft sisters huddle together at the play's close, Vershinin and Solyony are travelling towards another small, isolated town . . .

Cast:
Prozorov, Andrey Sergeevich: David Antrobus
Natalya Ivanovna: Louse Bolton
Olga: Anna Hewson
Masha: Cate Debenham-Taylor
Irina: Octavia Walters
Kulygin: Jason Baughan
Vershinin: Stuart Fox
Tusenbach: Damien Matthews
Solyony: Richard Rees
Chubutykin: Robert McBain
Fedotik Benedick Swann
Ferapont: Peter Wyatt
Anfisa: Helen Blatch

Director: Sam Walters
Design: Margarete Forsyth
Lighting: Oliver Fenwick
Sound: Sam Akester

2002-02-22 23:01:41