About the work
Anton Chekhov's drama Three Sisters, premiered in 1901 at the Moscow Art Theatre, portrays the longing and stagnation of three sisters in a Russian provincial town. The work is regarded as a masterpiece of psychological realism.
Plot
The sisters Olga, Masha and Irina live in a provincial town and yearn for Moscow, the city of their happy childhood. Olga works as an unhappy teacher, Masha is trapped in a loveless marriage, and Irina waits in vain for a meaningful life. The arrival and departure of a military regiment bring brief happiness and lasting disappointment. In the end the sisters are left behind, never having reached Moscow.
Cultural significance
Three Sisters established Chekhov as a master of dramatic nuance and unspoken subtext. The play became a model for modern psychological drama and is indispensable to the international theatre repertoire.