In a room in a house in a provincial town, three sisters wait for their lives to begin. Olga, the eldest. Masha, the middle child. Irina, the youngest. The clock strikes. A candle is lit. The clock stops. Something catches fire. The clock strikes. They wake up. Cordelia Lynn's version of Chekhov's Three Sisters , from a literal translation by Helen Rappaport, was first performed at the Almeida Theatre, London, in April 2019, in a production directed by Rebecca Frecknall. "Cordelia Lynn's adaptation makes Chekhov's characters feel like contemporary young women, vibrating with frustration at being stuck in unsatisfying jobs and lumbered with unsatisfying men... her update also delivers moments of capsizing sadness... quietly devastating." ⁠— The Stage Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), a physician by training, is now considered the most notable 20th-century Russian dramatist. His major plays, all staged by Stanislavsky at the Moscow Art Theatre, helped establish psychological realism in European theatre. Cordelia Lynn is a playwright whose plays include: a version of Chekhov's Three Sisters (Almeida Theatre, London, 2019); Lela & Co. (Royal Court Theatre, London, 2015); Believers Anonymous (Rosemary Branch Theatre, 2012); and After the War , which has been performed in venues around the UK and abroad. She was the recipient of the 2017 Pinter Commission for a new play at the Royal Court Theatre.