IT IS set to be one of the stage events of the autumn.
A world premiere of a play where the worlds of the Bronte sisters and playwright Chekhov meet. It is written by Blake Morrison and staged by Northern Broadsides.
We Are Three Sisters opens on September 9 at Broadsides’ home theatre, The Viaduct in Halifax.
It then goes on a national tour which includes the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield.
Blake Morrison is a renowned poet, novelist and playwright and a great supporter of Northern Broadsides.
He has translated and adapted five hugely successful plays which were all commissioned and performed by Broadsides.
Blake said about the new play: “A few years ago a good friend who knew the adaptations I’d done for Northern Broadsides suggested another one – why not a version of Chekhov’s The Three Sisters featuring Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte instead of Natasha, Masha and Olga?
“The idea is less bonkers than might first appear. Chekhov had read about the Brontes (probably in Elizabeth Gaskell’s biography of Charlotte) shortly before writing The Three Sisters.
“Their story was clearly an influence on the play, so there are good reasons for transplanting the play to Haworth and for identifying the Serghyeevna sisters with the Brontes; they even have a troubled and self-destructive brother in common.
“Above all I hope that, by taking a cue from Chekhov, the play will banish the gloom surrounding the Brontes and reveal the northern humour and resilience they showed, despite the ever-present threat of death and disease.”
Casting will be announced later.
