Tue 21 to Sat 25 October 2014
 King’s Theatre
 Evenings 7.30pm
 Matinees Wed & Sat 2.30pm

The Tron Threatre Company has been based in Glasgow since 1979. Director Andy Arnold aims to bring exceptional professional productions of premium newly written plays to the patrons of Scotland. Their most recent creation, The Three Sisters, rewritten by Playwright John Byrne (Tutti Frutti, The Slab Boys) has been given a distinctly Scottish twist. Chekhov’s great classic of modern theatre was originally set in Moscow at the turn of the twentieth century. Here Byrne transports Chekhov’s piece into a far from swinging sixties Dunoon naval base.

Set one year after their fathers death, the three now orphaned sisters Maddy, Renee and Olive (played by Muireann Kelly, Jessica Hardwick and Sally Reid) reminisce of life back in London. After spending the last eleven years in dull lifeless Argyllshire, they yearn to return to the cosmopolitan opulence of the big city. They hope to sell the decaying, once privileged home they share with their intellectual brother, Archie (Jonathon Watson) and move to Carnaby Street so that a life of love, culture, and adventure can finally begin. Depressed in their surroundings, the winter brings the cold and summer brings the midges!

Youngest daughter, Renee’s innocent dreams are stifled by work and fatigue. Her sister, Maddy appears to be in a constant bad mood, despondent after being married off too early to a self-important twerp. The eldest, Olive is stuck in a job she hates and pines for a husband. Archie falls in love with local bonny lass, Natasha, who develops into his ill-mannered vulgar wife, while he in turn descends into a debt ridden gambling addict. Live-in Dr MacGillivery was in love with the sisters’ deceased mother.  Shy but rude navy officer Maloney is rejected by Renne. Their old servant, Dorbie is constantly exhausted, but has nowhere else to go. Every character appears to be melancholic in one way or another, be it through love, money, career or regret. Even the promise of a romantic visitor, the unhappily married naval Admiral McShane ends in misery for Maddy.

The stage set is skillfully controlled by freeze frame acts, one graceful scene change from interior to exterior and sympathetic lighting throughout. Chekhov’s tragi-comedic production documents the decay of the upper class and the search for meaning in the modern world. The pace lingers in parts, wallowing in the personal misery of the individual cast members, however the ensemble presents a dramatic  piece of theatre depicting the struggle to survive in unfamiliar territory. FOUR STARS

Reviewer : Sarah Lewis