Anton Chekhov’s 1901 family drama about different kinds of love, and lack thereof, demands intimacy and subtlety, both of which are sometimes wanting in this new Theatre Works production.

Director Greg Carroll’s 12-strong ensemble is predominantly young, including an assured trio in the title roles. Unfortunately the cast’s projection is frequently on the verge of shouting, or actually shouting, during this two-hour play (plus interval).

Joanna Halliday, Stella Carroll, and Mia Landgren in Three Sisters. Photo © Steven Mitchell Wright

Three Sisters is set in the orphaned, adult Prozorova siblings’ home in a regional Russian garrison town. There’s motherly Olga, unhappily married Marsha, and the youngest, Irina and Andrei, who are initially full of expectation about the future.

Their lives are unsettled when Andrei marries the increasingly controlling Natasha, turns to gambling and mortgages the family home.

Several army officer friends come and go throughout the play, including Vershinin, with whom Marsha begins an affair; her boring but cheerful husband, Kulygin, knows but does nothing. Disenchanted Irina eventually agrees to marry Tuzenbach, which irritates his rival, the misfit Solyony.

The calm of Mia Landgren’s Olga is shot through with worry and frustration, there’s appealing...