THE MASTER AND MARGARITA
The Devil comes to Moscow.
It is 1930, and the citizens of Moscow no longer believe in Heaven and Hell. While the Devil toys with the literary elite, a young woman searches for her lover, a blacklisted writer who has disappeared after the rejection of his novel - a novel about Pontius Pilate...
Black Magic. Romance. Murder. And one very fat cat.
Coming to the Fringe from performances at home in Oxford, via the Battersea Arts Centre in London, this ensemble presents a variety show of live music, dance, comedy and pantomime, in a new adaptation that brings the myth and magic of Bulgakov's groundbreaking novel to life on stage.
The Source
Written in the late thirties, this was a tale of courage and faith told like no other before or since. With no question of passing Soviet censors, it remained unpublished until 1966. It is now widely recognised as Bulgakov's masterpiece, a progenitor of magical realism, and a cult classic of the 20th century.
The Production
From a script newly translated by Russian speaking members of the company, this production incorporates a wide range of theatrical traditions, from commedia del'Arte to variety acts, as well as live music and innovative choreography to allow a cast of nine to present this story in a fantastic selection of atmospheric spaces.
The Cast
The tour brings a host of Oxford’s most outstanding actors to stages in London and Edinburgh. Featuring stars of the huge Oxford Playhouse stage and veterans of many a fringe and festival, not least Edinburgh, this group is one to watch. A number of cast members are in such hot demand they are performing in multiple fringe shows, with one arriving in time to done his fur-covered full body suit just moments before lights up…
Visit the cast and crew menu pages to read more about the individuals involved.
About the Author
Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov was born in Kiev, now in modern day Ukraine, in May 1891. After studying medicine, he served for six months during the First World War on the front line as an army doctor. Following the Russian Revolution, in March 1918, he returned to Kiev to set up a private practice. The Civil War was underway by then and the city changed hands 14 times between the Reds, the Whites, Ukrainian Nationalists and the Germans. Bulgakov enlisted as a field doctor with the White Guard in the Caucasus, where he gave up medicine and began working as a journalist. Bulgakov moved to Moscow in 1921. His first novel, The White Guard, describes his experiences in wartime Kiev and became the basis for the play, The Day of the Turbins. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1926 to great acclaim. Stalin is said to have seen it nineteen times. He wrote both humorous sketches and novels, which earned him a hostile reception in the press. As the Soviet Union became more ideologically rigid in the late 20s, Bulgakov's ambivalent works came under attack more and more often. He wrote a letter to the government pleading his case. In reply he received a telephone call in the middle of the night from Stalin, who offered him a job at the Moscow Art Theater. This was the period when Bulgakov began work in secret on The Master and Margarita. In 1932, he married his third wife, Elena Shilovskaia, who many see as a model for the character of Margarita. His dramatisation of the life of Moliere and another work, Batum, set in the Caucasas and portraying the early years of Stalin’s life were both banned. He died in 1940.
Written in the late thirties, this was a tale of courage and faith told like no other before or since. With no question of passing Soviet censors, it remained unpublished until 1966. It is now widely recognised as Bulgakov's masterpiece, a progenitor of magical realism, and a cult classic of the 20th century.
The Production
From a script newly translated by Russian speaking members of the company, this production incorporates a wide range of theatrical traditions, from commedia del'Arte to variety acts, as well as live music and innovative choreography to allow a cast of nine to present this story in a fantastic selection of atmospheric spaces.
The tour brings a host of Oxford’s most outstanding actors to stages in London and Edinburgh. Featuring stars of the huge Oxford Playhouse stage and veterans of many a fringe and festival, not least Edinburgh, this group is one to watch. A number of cast members are in such hot demand they are performing in multiple fringe shows, with one arriving in time to done his fur-covered full body suit just moments before lights up…
Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov was born in Kiev, now in modern day Ukraine, in May 1891. After studying medicine, he served for six months during the First World War on the front line as an army doctor. Following the Russian Revolution, in March 1918, he returned to Kiev to set up a private practice. The Civil War was underway by then and the city changed hands 14 times between the Reds, the Whites, Ukrainian Nationalists and the Germans. Bulgakov enlisted as a field doctor with the White Guard in the Caucasus, where he gave up medicine and began working as a journalist. Bulgakov moved to Moscow in 1921. His first novel, The White Guard, describes his experiences in wartime Kiev and became the basis for the play, The Day of the Turbins. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1926 to great acclaim. Stalin is said to have seen it nineteen times. He wrote both humorous sketches and novels, which earned him a hostile reception in the press. As the Soviet Union became more ideologically rigid in the late 20s, Bulgakov's ambivalent works came under attack more and more often. He wrote a letter to the government pleading his case. In reply he received a telephone call in the middle of the night from Stalin, who offered him a job at the Moscow Art Theater. This was the period when Bulgakov began work in secret on The Master and Margarita. In 1932, he married his third wife, Elena Shilovskaia, who many see as a model for the character of Margarita. His dramatisation of the life of Moliere and another work, Batum, set in the Caucasas and portraying the early years of Stalin’s life were both banned. He died in 1940.
