Three Sisters 14

Time is one of the main actors in Chekhov’s enigmatic drama, for the characters seem to be living in three different periods of their lives simultaneously. They are actively reliving their childhoods, mirroring the present, and investing hope in the future.

Vidnyánszky’s vision begins with the fourth act: the fire. The explanation for this lies in the fact that while Chekhov was familiar with the era before “the fire” and knew from personal observation of how that world had vanished, today we can only look back from the perspective of the era after “the fire” on the world that forever is gone. Thus Chekhov’s bygone sense of life is brought to life in the present.

Almost every actor is present throughout the play. Whatever the perspective may be from which we observe the events, we always see them from our own perspective, and we can decide which details to observe and which character to follow.