This week, the Northeastern Theatre Department is producing its first global collaboration.  Acclaimed Russian director Igor Golyak, trained in the Moscow Art Theatre, will direct our production of Anton Chekhov’s 1900 Russian classic The Three Sisters in collaboration with Russian guest artists, Northeastern faculty, and students.

Mr. Golyak is the Artistic Director of Arlekin Players Theatre, which has won numerous awards in the United States and internationally, most recently a 2018 Elliot Norton Award for his production of Dead Man’s Diary at Arts Emerson. Arlekin Players Theatre is a multicultural, multi-national collaborative that has been invited to perform on famous stages and at world-renowned festivals all over the world, including Moscow Art Theatre, and festivals in Yerevan, Armenia, New York City, Chicago, Lviv, Ukraine, Monaco, and many others.

Mr. Golyak is joined on the production by his frequent collaborator Viktor Plotnikov, an internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer. Mr. Plotnikov has created original, commissioned works for companies including the Boston Ballet and the Bolshoi Theatre. Rounding out the Russian team is Nastya Bugaeva, a scenic and costume designer based in Moscow who has collaborated on productions at prestigious theatres like the Moscow Art Theatre, Sovremennik Theatre, Mayakovsky Theatre, Theatre of Nations, Moscow Satire Theatre, and many more in Russia and around the world. Ms. Bugaeva will travel from Russia to Boston for rehearsals. Composer Jakov Jakoulov created original music for the project. These artists will bring international perspectives and methods of creating theatre to our student actors and designers.

Mr. Golyak has referred to his concept as “a dream in two acts.” The Three Sisters depicts a family’s unrealized dreams seen through the lens of the social upheavals that shook 19^th century Russia. Northeastern’s innovative, post-modern reinterpretation of this classic play uses Sarah Ruhl’s new translation and features a bold and compelling design aesthetic.

“There is sometimes a perception that Chekhov’s plays are dull because they have very little plot,” according to department chair Scott Edmiston, who teaches the play in his course Rebels of Modern Drama. “But the action is internal – emotional and psychological.  By freeing the play of the conventions of realism and giving it a dream reality, Igor and the students have found a completely original, outrageous new way of seeing Chekhov’s masterpiece that is mysterious and astonishing.”

The production features a cast of 14 students ranging from first years to fifth years. In addition to the global guest artists, the design team includes Assistant Teaching Professor Oliver Wason, who designed lights and Kelley Shephard ’19, who designed costumes.

 This production is made possible in part by the generous support of alumna Kim Bromley ’78.

The Three Sisters
By Anton Chekhov, Adapted by Sarah Ruhl

Presented by: Northeastern University Department of Theatre; Scott Edmiston, Chair

Cast: Keely Craig, Devon Whitney, Meryl Predergast, Jacob Barrett, Natalia Katz, Matthew Hosking, Zeke D’Ascoli, Kate Franklin, Liam Hofmeister, Daniel Lutz, Julia Chase, Amos Nasongo, Tarik Jones, Lou Conrad

Directed by Igor Golyak

Design Team:
Costumes: Kelley Shephard
Lighting: Oliver Wason
Composer: Jakov Jakoulov
Movement: Viktor Platnikov
Scenic: Nastya Bugaeva

Production Stage Manager: Rose Mancuso

Performing at: The Studio Theatre at Northeastern University, Ell Hall, Huntington Avenue

Performance Schedule: March 28th-April 7th; Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30pm
Friday-Saturday at 8:00pm, Sunday at 2pm

Ticket Prices: For students: $8.00 on Tuesdays – Thursdays; $10.00 on Fridays – Sundays
For non-students: $12.00 on Tuesdays – Thursdays; $15.00 on Fridays – Sundays

Box Office: 617-373-4700; https://mytickets.northeastern.edu/

Press Contact: Darren Evans, [email protected], 617-373-2245