Act3 Scene2 – Three Sisters

The [Chekhov] WHAT:

A director’s approach to Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, revealed in the 7-minute scene between Olga and Natasha from act 3.

The [Chekhov] WHY:

This short scene reveals the shift of power balance between the old and the new in the household and in society – that is central to Chekhov’s dramaturgy. Olga the matriarch, and her romantic values of the illumination, are brutally replaced by the opportunism associated with money and work represented by Natasha – still with us today in most naturalistic plays. The confrontation is not only dramatic but lethal for Olga and her class of people, indicative of the ulterior changes that convulsed Russia. Natasha is unknowingly the agent of grander changes, very content with her current opportunistic progress in life climbing the family ladder, reflected in the way the picture on the wall and the values associated with it change over time. A degree of humor is present in how the old nanny evades work and manipulates Olga’s inclination to protect her in the name of the old values. Natasha succeeds in trashing these values with a sense of superiority, humanity and practicality – the first two being obviously faked.