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Three Sisters
Chekhov's iconic characters are relocated to Nigeria in this bold new adaptation.
Owerri, 1967, on the brink of the Biafran Civil War.
Lolo, Nne Chukwu and Udo are grieving the loss of their father. Months before, two ruthless military coups plunged the country into chaos. Fuelled by foreign intervention, the conflict encroaches on their provincial village, and the sisters long to return to their former home in Lagos.
Following his smash-hit Barber Shop Chronicles, Inua Ellams returns to the National Theatre with this heartbreaking retelling of Chekhov's classic play.
Owerri, 1967, on the brink of the Biafran Civil War.
Lolo, Nne Chukwu and Udo are grieving the loss of their father. Months before, two ruthless military coups plunged the country into chaos. Fuelled by foreign intervention, the conflict encroaches on their provincial village, and the sisters long to return to their former home in Lagos.
Following his smash-hit Barber Shop Chronicles, Inua Ellams returns to the National Theatre with this heartbreaking retelling of Chekhov's classic play.
112 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 17, 2020
"This is our fate. Our parents forgot things about their parents, and we cannot know what our children will remember about us."
From THREE SISTERS by Inua Ellams, retelling of Anton Chekhov's play from 1901, adapted by Ellams, 2019.
Ellams, a Nigerian playwright currently living and working in London, reframed and adapted Chekhov's famous "Three Sisters" to the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War, and the secessionist state of Biafra.
I read the translated original play last October, so when I saw this ebook available through Hoopla I wanted to read it while the story was still fresh in mind. I learned that it was on stage in London for several months, only ending last week (19 Feb 2020).
In Ellams reimagining, the eponymous three sisters live in military outpost in eastern Nigeria, and as tensions rise between the tribes, their region becomes the center of the Biafran secessionist state. They long for their days in Lagos, just as the original sisters pined for Moscow.
Like Chekhov's version, this is largely a parlor drama with a lot of exposition of events happening "outside" their secure walls. Even with war, and famine around them, there are games, love triangles, singing, and witty banter between characters. They are removed, but also steeped within.
Yet, like the original - written in 1901 and deceptively deep in political and class-structure in pre-Revoltution Russia - Ellams version manages to delve even deeper into post-colonial thought, decrying the British support for Nigerian troops, the ignorance of Americans ("off losing their War in Vietnam" as one character notes), the "blood for oil" sentiments, and tribal and class divisions.
In four acts, the play spans the approximately 3 years of the Biafran state and Civil War.
"When news broke of [Biafran] surrender, there was no celebration. Everyone lost."
Brilliant adaptation by Ellams. I knew very little about this piece of Nigerian history, and this play shed light on many larger issues. Reading the original Russian play first helped in my understanding of the story, and I recommend reading both as they are very complementary in philosophy and tone.
From THREE SISTERS by Inua Ellams, retelling of Anton Chekhov's play from 1901, adapted by Ellams, 2019.
Ellams, a Nigerian playwright currently living and working in London, reframed and adapted Chekhov's famous "Three Sisters" to the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War, and the secessionist state of Biafra.
I read the translated original play last October, so when I saw this ebook available through Hoopla I wanted to read it while the story was still fresh in mind. I learned that it was on stage in London for several months, only ending last week (19 Feb 2020).
In Ellams reimagining, the eponymous three sisters live in military outpost in eastern Nigeria, and as tensions rise between the tribes, their region becomes the center of the Biafran secessionist state. They long for their days in Lagos, just as the original sisters pined for Moscow.
Like Chekhov's version, this is largely a parlor drama with a lot of exposition of events happening "outside" their secure walls. Even with war, and famine around them, there are games, love triangles, singing, and witty banter between characters. They are removed, but also steeped within.
Yet, like the original - written in 1901 and deceptively deep in political and class-structure in pre-Revoltution Russia - Ellams version manages to delve even deeper into post-colonial thought, decrying the British support for Nigerian troops, the ignorance of Americans ("off losing their War in Vietnam" as one character notes), the "blood for oil" sentiments, and tribal and class divisions.
In four acts, the play spans the approximately 3 years of the Biafran state and Civil War.
"When news broke of [Biafran] surrender, there was no celebration. Everyone lost."
Brilliant adaptation by Ellams. I knew very little about this piece of Nigerian history, and this play shed light on many larger issues. Reading the original Russian play first helped in my understanding of the story, and I recommend reading both as they are very complementary in philosophy and tone.
June 3, 2023
Ellams is good on the neocolonial roots of ethnic conflict and the ennui of postcolonial elites. His use of Chekhov is clever if a bit restricting.
November 17, 2023
Deze adaptatie (2019) van Anton Tsjechovs toneelstuk ´Drie zusters´ (1901) is een recente herwerking door Inua Ellams en is net zoals het originele stuk tijdloos, herkenbaar, schrijnend, uitzichtloos en af en toe absurd.
De opvoering door National Theatre heb ik nooit gezien, maar de tekst alleen is subliem, subtiel en krachtig. Inua Ellams creëerde meer dan genoeg raakvlakken met de originele tekst om mij - zelfs na bijna tien jaar -Tsjechovs woorden, personages, motieven en scènes voor de geest te halen.
Niet Olja, Masja en Irina, maar Lolo, Udo en Nne Chukwu vertolken de zussen die elk op hun manier verlangen naar een spannender leven. Ze lijken echter vast te zitten in een klein dorp met op de verre achtergrond een schijnbaar allesveranderende oorlog.
Nooit gedacht dat je zoiets kon zeggen over Tsjechovs werk, maar het was een leuk herlezen. Waarschijnlijk haal ik er snel nog eens zijn woorden bij om de twee versies meer in detail te vergelijken.
De opvoering door National Theatre heb ik nooit gezien, maar de tekst alleen is subliem, subtiel en krachtig. Inua Ellams creëerde meer dan genoeg raakvlakken met de originele tekst om mij - zelfs na bijna tien jaar -Tsjechovs woorden, personages, motieven en scènes voor de geest te halen.
Niet Olja, Masja en Irina, maar Lolo, Udo en Nne Chukwu vertolken de zussen die elk op hun manier verlangen naar een spannender leven. Ze lijken echter vast te zitten in een klein dorp met op de verre achtergrond een schijnbaar allesveranderende oorlog.
Nooit gedacht dat je zoiets kon zeggen over Tsjechovs werk, maar het was een leuk herlezen. Waarschijnlijk haal ik er snel nog eens zijn woorden bij om de twee versies meer in detail te vergelijken.
April 14, 2020
Gorgeous adaptation.
Page 46 - a stunning remark ->
"NNE CHUKWU: If I was in Lagos, I wouldn't even notice the rain.
IKEMBA: You wouldn't even notice Lagos.
NNE CHUKWU: What do you mean?
IKEMBA: The longing for Lagos will stop. It's the longing that motivates you. That's what I mean about happiness, we aren't made to be happy, but to long for happiness, it motivates life."
Page 46 - a stunning remark ->
"NNE CHUKWU: If I was in Lagos, I wouldn't even notice the rain.
IKEMBA: You wouldn't even notice Lagos.
NNE CHUKWU: What do you mean?
IKEMBA: The longing for Lagos will stop. It's the longing that motivates you. That's what I mean about happiness, we aren't made to be happy, but to long for happiness, it motivates life."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2021
Inua Ellam’s work is as stunning as ever. A great adaptation of Chekhov and a very thorough representation of all the Igbo people went through in the Biafran war
January 5, 2025
This is very very close to the original Chekhov, more like a director's adaptation than a real reworking.. Most of the time, it's just name changes, with the occasional transposition of bits of history. Very occasionally, we get an actual culturally determined change to a character eg a marriage is revealed to be arranged in teenagehood, hence the adult strains. The analogy with the Biafran war is interesting and Chekhov is great but it all gets a bit restrictive, especially just reading it on the page. A pity Ellams wasn't bolder.
December 24, 2020
I actually saw this play being performed during its short run at the National Theatre in London, back in February 2020. I was exhausted after a long day at work and travelling into the city, wondering to myself why the hell I had bought a single midweek ticket to this show that I didn't know anything about. I was not familiar with the story, the original Chekhov version, Ellams, the ethnic makeup of Nigeria, the Biafran war or the particular effects that colonialism had on this region of the world.
All my fatigue faded the moment I sat in front of that stage, I was enthralled and the play swam around my head for weeks afterwards. The story is simple yet poignant, very human. I felt simultaneously raw and refreshed watching it.
I couldn't let go of this play, and so months later, I decided to read it even though it was still relatively fresh. Since I had already watched this beauty on stage, the actors' voices and the music came flooding back as I read.
Ellams writes in a way that is poetic and rich, his characters are simple but fully fleshed out. They speak with a musical cadence. History and philosophy are woven into the mundane horrors of war. It remains a small family drama, but the relationships shown here are universal.
All my fatigue faded the moment I sat in front of that stage, I was enthralled and the play swam around my head for weeks afterwards. The story is simple yet poignant, very human. I felt simultaneously raw and refreshed watching it.
I couldn't let go of this play, and so months later, I decided to read it even though it was still relatively fresh. Since I had already watched this beauty on stage, the actors' voices and the music came flooding back as I read.
Ellams writes in a way that is poetic and rich, his characters are simple but fully fleshed out. They speak with a musical cadence. History and philosophy are woven into the mundane horrors of war. It remains a small family drama, but the relationships shown here are universal.
April 10, 2023
Obsessed with this play. Ellams so masterfully balances faithfulness to the original Chekhov play and faithfulness to the history this adaptation is based on. The changes to the characters are so delightfully nuanced and not only further the reader’s understanding of this war, but raise the stakes. People say nothing happens in Chekhov but boy does a lot happen in this play.
June 25, 2020
Inua Ellams is one of the most exciting playwrights and theatre makers of our lifetime. If you work in theatre and haven’t read or seen his work, you’ve been missing something singularly poetic and significant.
September 24, 2020
So the production with the original cast early this year and it was absolutely phenomenal.
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January 31, 2023free me from three sisters i’m begging
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews