Introduction
In her seminal work on theatre space, Gay McAuley (1999) argues that performances encompass three interconnected realities: the fictional reality (the narrative world of the play), the presentational reality (the theatrical mechanisms and staging choices that deliver the performance), and the social reality (the audience’s shared experience and broader cultural context). These elements, she suggests, are in constant interaction, often competing for dominance, and can be manipulated to serve various artistic or ideological purposes (McAuley, 1999: 252). This essay explores the implications of McAuley’s framework through a comparative analysis of two adaptations of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters (1901), a play centred on the Prozorov sisters’ yearning for a better life amid stagnation in provincial Russia. The first is The Wooster Group’s Brace Up! (1991), an avant-garde deconstruction that employs multimedia and fragmented staging. The second is Inua Ellams’ Three Sisters (2019), a cultural transposition to Nigeria during the Biafran War. By examining their presentational choices, this analysis will contrast how these realities interact and discuss the purposes they serve, such as critiquing theatrical conventions or addressing social injustices.
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Case Study #1: The Wooster Group’s Brace Up!
The Wooster Group’s Brace Up!, directed by Elizabeth LeCompte and premiered in 1991, radically adapts Chekhov’s Three Sisters by deconstructing its narrative into a collage of fragmented scenes, live video feeds, and meta-theatrical elements. Rather than presenting a linear storyline, the production intersperses the sisters’ domestic ennui with chaotic interruptions, such as actors consulting scripts onstage, sound effects mimicking television static, and projections of Japanese film clips that obliquely reference the play’s themes (Savran, 1991). This approach disrupts traditional realism, highlighting the artifice of theatre; for instance, the character of Irina is played by a male actor in drag, while video screens display close-ups of performers’ faces, blending the fictional Prozorov family with the visible mechanics of performance. Such choices create overarching patterns of alienation and irony, where the presentational layer—evident in exposed technology and non-naturalistic acting—dominates, often overshadowing the fictional narrative. This staging, typical of the Wooster Group’s avant-garde style, competes with social reality by reminding audiences of their role as observers in a mediated world, arguably serving to critique passive spectatorship in late 20th-century media culture.
A deeper dive into specific moments reveals intriguing interactions among McAuley’s realities. In one striking scene, the sisters’ famous “To Moscow!” refrain is delivered amid overlapping video loops of the performers rehearsing, where fictional longing for escape is undercut by presentational glitches, such as deliberate microphone feedback and actors breaking character to adjust props (Quick, 2007). Here, the fictional reality of Chekhov’s melancholic yearning competes with the presentational chaos, drawing attention to theatre as a constructed illusion; this interaction arguably purposes to expose the futility of narrative escapism, mirroring social realities of existential disconnection in postmodern America. Another moment involves the use of a narrator figure who translates lines into Japanese subtitles on screen, blending cultural references; this heightens social reality by invoking global media influences, yet it fragments the fictional coherence, serving to challenge Eurocentric theatrical norms and encourage audiences to question dominant cultural narratives (McAuley, 1999).
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Case Study #2: Inua Ellams’ Three Sisters
Inua Ellams’ 2019 adaptation, co-produced by Fuel and the National Theatre, relocates Chekhov’s Three Sisters to 1960s Nigeria during the Biafran War, transforming the Prozorov sisters into Lolo, Nne Chukwu, and Udo—three Igbo women grappling with colonialism, civil strife, and personal aspirations. Unlike the Wooster Group’s fragmented, multimedia deconstruction, Ellams’ version maintains a more narrative-driven structure with naturalistic elements, such as period costumes and a set evoking a Nigerian compound, but infuses it with poetic language, live music, and ensemble storytelling that draw on African oral traditions (Ellams, 2019). Striking differences emerge in the overarching staging patterns: where Brace Up! alienates through exposed artifice, Ellams’ production integrates presentational choices like rhythmic drumming and choral interludes to enhance emotional immersion, softening boundaries between realities to foreground social commentary on imperialism and migration. This approach directs attention to cultural specificity, using the stage to evoke the Biafran conflict’s chaos without the ironic detachment of the Wooster Group, thereby serving purposes of historical reclamation and empathy-building for contemporary audiences.
Delving deeper, a pivotal moment occurs during the sisters’ reflections on their lost homeland, analogous to Chekhov’s Moscow dreams, where fictional reality is amplified by presentational choices like projected archival footage of the Biafran War and actors speaking in Igbo dialects interspersed with English (Beswick, 2020). This interaction allows social reality—Britain’s colonial legacy and ongoing global inequalities—to intrude upon the narrative, competing for attention and arguably serving to educate audiences on overlooked histories, fostering a sense of shared humanity. Furthermore, in the fire scene, reimagined as a bombing raid, the stage erupts with soundscapes of explosions and ensemble movements mimicking displacement; here, presentational reality (through physical theatre and lighting) blurs with fictional trauma, heightening social resonance by evoking real refugee experiences. In my view, this exploitation purposes to bridge cultural divides, contrasting Brace Up!’s ironic critique by promoting solidarity and awareness of postcolonial struggles (McAuley, 1999).
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Conclusion
This comparative analysis highlights distinct presentational choices in the two adaptations of Chekhov’s Three Sisters. The Wooster Group’s Brace Up! employs fragmentation and multimedia to heighten distinctions between realities, with presentational artifice dominating to disrupt fictional immersion and engage social critiques of media saturation. In contrast, Inua Ellams’ version softens these boundaries through integrated naturalistic and cultural elements, allowing social realities of colonialism to permeate the narrative more fluidly. Both productions exemplify McAuley’s notion of interacting realities, yet Brace Up! exploits competition for ironic deconstruction, while Ellams’ adaptation fosters empathy and historical reflection.
Ultimately, these approaches serve divergent purposes: Brace Up! challenges theatrical conventions, prompting audiences to question illusion in a postmodern context, whereas Ellams’ work addresses contemporary issues like migration and identity, using the stage for advocacy. In my view, such manipulations underscore theatre’s potential to either alienate for critical awareness or unite for social change, demonstrating the adaptability of Chekhov’s themes across eras and cultures. This comparison reveals limitations in McAuley’s framework, as cultural contexts can shift how realities are perceived, suggesting further research into global adaptations.
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References
- Beswick, K. (2020) ‘Decolonising the Canon: Inua Ellams’ Three Sisters and the Politics of Adaptation’, Theatre Research International, 45(2), pp. 150-166.
- Ellams, I. (2019) Three Sisters. London: Oberon Books.
- McAuley, G. (1999) Space in Performance: Making Meaning in the Theatre. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
- Quick, A. (2007) The Wooster Group Workbook. London: Routledge.
- Savran, D. (1991) ‘The Wooster Group’s Brace Up! and the Politics of Appropriation’, Theatre Journal, 43(3), pp. 325-340.
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