Bronte bravo

Reporter: Beatriz Ayala
Date online: 21 September 2011

We Are Three Sisters, Lowry
THE wild, windswept Yorkshire moors are the setting for a tale of three extraordinary sisters who helped change English literature.

“We Are Three Sisters”, a Northern Broadsides Production, mixes fact with fiction to depict the defining years of the Bronte girls.

This production at The Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays, draws on Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” as inspiration, but instead of focusing on Russia and Moscow, its the West Yorkshire village of Haworth that sets the story.

The wordplay is sharp, witty and engaging, with pockets of humour that often leaves the audience laughing out loud.

As the five act play goes on, the audience meets characters including their failed genius brother Patrick Branwell, performed by Gareth Cassidy, his married lover Lydia Robinson, played by Becky Hindley who is best known for her portrayal of Charlotte Hoyle in “Coronation Street”, and Marc Parry as the lovesick curate.

Actors Catherine Kinsella, who plays sensible eldest sister Charlotte, Sophia Di Martino as brooding Emily and Rebecca Hutchinson as young idealist Anne, give strong performances.

But it is John Branwell, as doctor, who nails both great humour and tragedy in his portrayal of the love-lorn middle-aged practitioner desperate for Anne’s affection.