Chekhov’s Three Sisters are brought into the modern era in this respectfully updated version by adaptor-director Victor Kalka.

We’re still in Russia with the unhappy siblings (Nicola Denton, Sarah Greenwood and Meg Bennetts) still yearning for Moscow. The ‘vibe’ though, is distinctively Australian, the humour laconic. The play’s fiery climax has a whiff of exploding Eucalypt to it.

Working in a minimally-furnished grey set with a seat-height lip separating the world of the story from the audience, the performances – especially those of the siblings are good, if a fraction muted at first. 

Sarah Greenwood and Nicola Denton in Three Sisters. Photo © Samuel Webster

Infectious lassitude is kept at bay with the arrival of the Vershinin, commander of the local garrison (a shaven-headed Alex Bryant-Smith, dressed like one of Putin’s FSB heavies), whose poetic musings stir the heart of the unhappily married Masha (Greenwood). Our first encounter with Masha’s husband, Kulygin (played as an irredeemable twerp by Mason Phoumirath), renders us unable to be anything but sympathetic to her plight. Frankly, it’s amazing she hasn’t murdered him already.

The second...