Sisters Three – Summerhall Anatomy Lecture Theatre

TheatreGoose’s Sisters Three is a highly accomplished piece of theatre that takes the audience on an enchanting, funny and often moving journey. The premise is relatively simple; the titular sisters from Chekov’s masterpiece, Irina, Masha and Olaga, are aware that they are in a play (don’t worry you don’t need to have read it). But when Irina wishes for the lives of any other sisters, in any other medium, the three are taken on a whirlwind journey ranging from Greek tragedy and Shakespeare to historical figures and the Sugababes.

Writer and director Emma Howlett’s script manages to discuss a range of philosophical and academic questions, including the nature of happiness and freedom, and the place of women within literature, whilst remaining endlessly entertaining. Frequent movement sequences lend a certain dynamism to the performance which in turn makes the slower, more reflective scenes that bit more poignant. Ellie Wintour’s set design is not only superb, but ties into the plot itself. How, I won’t say. The lighting, designed by Edward Saunders, and sound and original score, designed and composed by Sarah Spencer, all did a wonderful job of creating a unique atmosphere for each variation of life the sisters visited. Put simply, the crew were firing on all cylinders.

The cast, additionally, were phenomenal. Sophie Kean, Irina, Abby McCann, Masha, and Angela Sant’Albano, Olga, had exceptional chemistry. I believed their sibling dynamic from the opening minute of the play to the last, despite the huge range of both emotions and characters they had to play. Each performer was given their moment to shine, and each rose to the occasion wonderfully. On a side note, I was completely taken aback when, once the show had ended, McCann and Sant’Albano addresses the audience in their natural accents. They had both been adopting an English accent for the entire play and I never would have guessed. I hope to see all three performers in the future!

Perhaps my only criticism of the show is that I felt it was slightly longer than it needed to be. At 65 minutes, it’s a few minutes longer than most Fringe shows, and I’m not sure those extra few minutes were earned. Perhaps there could have been one less alternate version of the sisters’ lives? Additionally, the ‘final confrontation’ of sorts between the sisters could have been trimmed. There’s only so much of siblings yelling at each other an audience can take before the argument loses its impact. Keeping the runtime at 60 minutes would have trimmed any fat remaining in the script and let to a truly airtight production.

That being said, Sisters Three is not only wondrously entertaining, but really makes you consider how women, both in fiction and in real life, have been side-lined by men. I left with a smile on my face and wanting to learn more about all the women the play discussed. Sisters Three is running until the 26^th of August, except the 19^th, and I highly recommend you give it a watch. TheatreGoosehave crafted something special!

Reviewer: Ben Pearson

Reviewed: 17^th August 2024

North West End UK Rating: