Three Sisters On Hope Street- TNT

Chekhov' s penultimate play of unfulfilled wishes gets a complete makeover in Diane Samuels and Tracy-Ann Oberman's interesting update which relocates the three sisters and their brother from turn-of-the century Russia to post World War II Liverpool. It turns them into an educated Jewish family in which the siblings are several years older than their original counterparts and the visiting soldiers have become American GI's stationed nearby, but the stunted trajectory of their lives remains very much the same. It's a challenging experiment and one which works surprisingly well. Anna Francolini's disappointed school teacher Gertie, firmly locked into an unwanted spinsterhood, sees middle sister May (Suzan Sylvester) scorn the husband she stole from her in favour of a romantic but married flight commander, and encourages Rita (the youngest) to accept a proposal from a privileged but idealistic airforce man with strong Zionist leanings. Philip Voss is superb as their doting lodger (here a retired gynaecologist who supplements his income performing illegal abortions), while Daisy Lewis's Scouse Debbie adds broader comedy as a supremely bossy sister-in-law who knows exactly what she wants and (unlike the others) won't let anything stand in her way. Hampstead, Eton Ave, NW3 (020-7722 9301). Until March 29. £22 -£13