Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” are unhappy all the time. The two who work are miserable. The married one doesn’t love her husband. All of them are sick and tired of their dreary country life, and pine for change.
Yet instead of doing something about their situation, they dream, complain and philosophize. That’s how you can tell it’s a Russian play, not an American one.
There’s actually quite a bit of humor in the siblings’ predicament — they also include a brother, Andrey, who’s made the leap from sad sack to total loser — and Chekhov mines it with a dry touch.
But the production by St. Petersburg director Lev Dodin and his Maly Drama company that opened at BAM — in Russian, with subtitles — is stark, slow and grim. It’s a respectable approach, but it requires patience.
Things start on a light note, as middle sister Masha (Elena Kalinina) jauntily, almost provocatively whistles — literally — her reactions to the doom and gloom of her schoolteacher sib, Olga (Irina Tychinina).
But the levity quickly disappears to leave only the women’s despondency, here a quasi-existential despair. The characters almost never look at each other when chatting, but stare into the distance — toward the exciting Moscow they miss so much, no doubt. The conversations become parallel soliloquies.
There is no change, no movement — except for the set, the façade of a house that moves forward and back at seemingly random intervals.
In this somber universe, even the most flamboyant character, Andrey’s social-climbing wife, Natasha (Ekaterina Kleopina), recedes into the background.
It’s certainly an interesting departure from American productions, including last year’s “Three Sisters,” starring Maggie Gyllenhaal as Masha. And there are truly poignant moments here, as when the youngest sister, Irina (Ekaterina Tarasova), collapses and repeatedly wails “To Moscow!”
The road may not be taken, but it’s still a tough journey. Chekhov newcomers may want to steer clear: This opaque, demanding production isn’t for beginners.