3 Sisters

I was sceptical. I can’t lie to you. Metra’s claim on their press release “wowing audiences in London, Bath and Cardiff” seemed a little farfetched and turning up in the pouring rain and building up the courage to board a shabby looking canal boat to experience Anton for an hour took a lot.Those of you who are familiar with the show – forget it. This is not a production of the show like you have ever seen before. Metra’s performance seems to follow the “Vanya on 42nd Street” path more than any other production of Chekhov I have experienced.Tanya Roberts has clearly worked very hard to make this show not only a theatrical mastication, but an accessible way into Chekhov for all. No knowledge of the playwright or play is required and just to help Chekhov virgins the canal boat is adorned with photos, maps and even a cleverly integrated torn - up copy of the script (though the piece I picked up as a souvenir was from The Cherry Orchard – you naughty little things).In one hour you are given a slightly watered down – but completely water tight adaptation of the work. This is real fringe theatre – three players and a director showing their talent, warts and all, with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.Francesca Hyde, Josephine Rogers and Jessica Stanley are stunning, acting as the sisters on our canal boat trip “to Moscow”, they more than cope with the less-than-traditional setting and indeed keeping the small audience entertained and interested.The beauty of this piece is that a West-End budget would kill the charm and hours of intricate character work that has obviously been painstakingly injected into this adaptation. Get a ticket while you can. Seriously.