Holliday Grainger joins "Three Sisters"

Paul McGann will star alongside Olivia Hallinan and Holliday Grainger in Anya Reiss’ new adaptation of Three Sisters when it opens at Southwark Playhouse next month.

The production of Chekhov’s classic, which has been reworked for the 21st century by the award-winning playwright, will run from 3 April to 3 May at the venue.

McGann, who plays Vershinin in the production, was last seen on the London stage in Butley at the Duchess Theatre. While the actor has also appeared on stage in productions including Helen at Shakespeare’s Globe and Mourning Becomes Electra at the National Theatre, he is best known for his screen work in television series including Luther, Hornblower and Ripper Street as well as films including Withnail And I.

Hallinan and Grainger are also well-known for their screen credits, which for Hallinan include Lark Rise To Candleford and Sugar Rush, and for Grainger include Renaissance drama The Borgias and the film adaptation of Great Expectations. Grainger, who plays youngest sister Irina, returns to the London stage for the first time since her 2009 performance in Dimetos at the Donmar Warehouse. Playing her oldest sister Olga, Hallinan has previously appeared in productions including Precious Little Talent at the Trafalgar Studios and Herding Cats at the Hampstead Theatre.

The trio are joined in the cast by Emily Taaffe as the third and final sister Masha. Taaffe’s previous stage credits include The Tempest, Twelfth Night and The Comedy Of Errors for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and The King James Bible and The Veil at the National Theatre.

Completing the cast are David Carlyle (Carpe Diem, National Theatre), Emily Dobbs (The Seagull, Southwark Playhouse), Michael Garner (The Merry Wives Of Windsor, Shakespeare’s Globe), Dudley Rogers (Titanic, Southwark Playhouse), Broadchurch’s Joe Sims, Tom Ross-Williams, Jane Thorne, and Thom Tuck.

The production will open at Southwark Playhouse following the current run of The A To Z Of Mrs P starring Frances Ruffelle, which closes on 29 March.

HOLLIDAY GRAINGER, OLIVIA HALLINAN, EMILY TAAFFE are about to star in Three Sisters at the Southwark Playhouse. I caught up with them during rehearsals to find out more about the show and themselves.

For those who may not be familiar with your work, can you tell me about yourself and some of your career highlights?

HG: I was first on stage in Dimetos at the Donmar Warehouse. I learned so much and feel like the skills were transferrable to the TV and film I’ve done since, including Bonnie and Clyde, The Borgias and Great Expectations.

Three Sisters is an old Play about the class system in Russia. This production has been reworked for the 21st Century. How does it differ from the original?

HG: Although Anya has set our world in an ex pat community in the contemporary Middle East, I think Chekhov’s themes and feelings still emanate from her adaptation.

The play centres around three sisters who are very different from one another. Which of the characters do you identify most with yourself?

HG: I try to have Irina’s positivity and work ethic.. try.

If I asked your friends to describe you in three words, what might they say?

HG: grounded, genuine, spontaneous

What has been the funniest/most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you on stage?

HG: I once corpsed at the smell of mushroom soup in in a dinner scene. It was usually carrot and coriander. I had to miss my next few lines.

Do you have a favourite play or musical that means a lot to you?

HG: The Sound of Music

If you could be a man for the day, what theatre role would you like to have a go at playing?

HG: Iago