Three of a kind

Mustapha Matura first tackled Chekhov's tale of decline, decay and shattered dreams in 1988 with Trinidad Sisters.

Here, he has reworked that attempt but it's still a rather empty affair.

Refined siblings Alma, Helen and Audrey (pictured) spend the hot and sultry summer days in 1941 Port Of Spain reminiscing about their years in Cambridge and dreaming of a return.

When terribly British platoon captain Richard Rivers (David Michaels) arrives, preparing Trinidadian troops for possible action in World War II, their yearning increases - especially that of unhappily married Helen (a pouty Nicola Alexis), who starts an affair with him.

Matura's reworking of JM Synge's Playboy Of The Western World worked by throwing out the bleaker threads of the plot and concentrating on humour.

He summons up some appealing comic moments here, too, but not enough to override nagging doubts.

The idea that the girls' brush with the Motherland was an enchanting experience doesn't really ring true, for a start, and Cambridge lacks the symbolic allure of Moscow.

The sting of their provincial sister-in-law's encroaching influence is neutered.

And the local boys heading off to the war don't really compare to Chekhov's soldiers, who provided a sort of exotic relief because they represented far-away places.

Director Paulette Randall nevertheless works well with the flimsy characters and creates a slick production, augmented no end by Libby Watson's beautiful set, which incorporates an evocative and everchanging skyscape.

Three Sisters