Three Sisters (Drei Schwestern)

The three sisters Olga, Mascha and Irina live in a provincial town, yet constantly dream of returning to the capital city, the symbol of their childhood and all their longings. But day-to-day life in the province seems to hold them captive and contrary to their expectations, their big brother Andrej doesn’t turn out to be their saviour. Olga, the eldest, dedicates herself – with constant headaches – to her profession as a teacher, Mascha, who is married, longs for more passionate love and throws herself into an affair and Irina, the youngest, believes that only work is the key to a better life, yet still spends half the day asleep. Time trickles by divorced from reality and immersed in longing for a romanticised past. Chekhov’s characters talk about starting over non-stop and yet remain stuck in a standstill. Their present life passes them by, while they indulge in escapist fantasies about an idealised future or past. Why, oh why do we live and suffer?    

Mateja Koležnik is one of Slovenia’s most renowned directors. With psychological precision and atmospheric lucidity, she portrays the cracks between people’s outer and inner lives. She regularly directs at the Burgtheater Vienna and the Berliner Ensemble. In 2023, her Bochum production of "Kinder der Sonne" was invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen.