Three Sisters (TCG Edition)

by Anton Chekhov, Paul Schmidt (Translator)

Overview

This refreshingly clear and colloquial adaptation was the basis for the Wooster Group's acclaimed production Brace Up!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781559366816
Publisher:	Theatre Communications Group
Publication date:	01/01/1993
Series:	TCG Translations
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	336 KB

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

It was inevitable that the American theater's most Chekhovian writer, Lanford Wilson, would be asked to translate Chekhov. The great Russian's influence marks virtually all of Wilson's plays, from "Balm in Gilead" to "Fifth of July" and "Talley's Folly". What could not have been predicted was how sensitive and intelligent a translator Wilson would be. First commissioned by the Hartford Stage Company in the early 1980s and rewritten several times since its first production in 1984, Wilson's "Three Sisters" is a breathtaking, evocative work in which every character springs to life on the page. Of course, even in stilted translations, one feels for the play's central characters--Olga, Masha, and Irina--and their fruitless yearning to transcend their petty lives and see Moscow. But in Wilson's literate, highly readable version, one comes to understand and feel sympathy even for the play's so-called villainess, the gauche upstart sister-in-law, Natalya. We eagerly await Wilson's next translating project: "Uncle Vanya".

Jack Helbig

“Wonderfully fresh and affecting.” – Ben Brantley, New York Times

“This lucid interpretation rewards with its deep understanding of a complex play.” – David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter



“Wonderfully fresh and affecting.” – Ben Brantley, New York Times

“This lucid interpretation rewards with its deep understanding of a complex play.” – David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

From the Publisher

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