Nothing to do with Chekhov, I’m afraid, though I suppose there are echoes: sibling rivalry, awkward courtship, concerns about money…  But this African version is more plot-driven (it is not about three sisters who think about going to Johannesburg… but don’t.)

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               It is the longest play so far, and the most complex, taking place over a period of years, allowing for character development… within the constraints of a folk tale (it’s not Chekhov.)  It also shows a change in style, showing the bloodier and more violent side of such stories: one of the girls is drowned in a river by the other two, but then returns from the dead to exact her revenge.

 

               The original story only had one name: Cuulu, the heroine, so I had to invent five more.  The girls were A, B and C – Abby, Beulah, and Cuulu, and their suitors, fiancés, husbands were D,E and F – Donny, Edmund, and Femi.