2010/11 season > The Three Sisters
The Three Sisters
written by anton chekhov
english translation by sarah ruhl
directed by les waters
main season | thrust stage
april 8–may 22, 2011 
west coast premiere
the play
Audiences and critics on both coasts embraced Eurydice and In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), two shows steeped in longing from playwright Sarah Ruhl and director Les Waters. Now this talented team turns its attention to a fresh translation of a masterpiece. The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov depicts an entire village of unlucky lovers struggling with the bittersweet distance between reality and dreams. Ruhl enlivens this classic with the same elegant understanding of intimacy that infused those earlier collaborations, while Waters and a cast of 14 deliver another sumptuous production. The West Coast premiere of this new adaptation explores the intertwined mysteries of denial and hope. Discover the humor and heartbreak of one of the world’s great plays, told anew through the lyricism of two leading voices in contemporary theatre. Get to know The Three Sisters.
the players
Anton Chekhov remains the most important dramatist in Russian history and one of the greatest playwrights of all times. His four final plays—The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull, The Three Sisters and Uncle Vanya—are considered masterpieces of modern drama.
Sarah Ruhl has earned many honors including a MacArthur Fellowship and two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize. Her plays have been performed around the world in at least eight languages.
Les Waters is the associate artistic director of Berkeley Rep. In the last five years, his shows have ranked among the year’s best in The New Yorker, New York Times, Time Out New York, Time Magazine and USA Today.
the buzz
“She’s one of the hottest playwrights around, a Pulitzer nominee and MacArthur ‘genius’ letting her imagination run wild.”—San Jose Mercury News
“In Les Waters, who directed her exciting Eurydice a few seasons back, she has found an expert collaborator.”—The New Yorker
“Three Sisters is the kind of theater I love…Sarah Ruhl’s smart new translation feels just right to contemporary American ears—lean, colloquial and conversational for us and true to Chekhov’s original work.”—Cincinnati Enquirer
“Ruhl’s a great intellect, a true entertainer, an authoritative American voice.”—New York magazine
“It’s all the same fucking day, man.”—Janis Joplin, as quoted by Ruhl in a foreword to The Three Sisters
MacArthur genius Sarah Ruhl returns to Berkeley Rep with a refreshing new translation of The Three Sisters, given its West Coast premiere by director Les Waters.
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