The Master and Margarita

Synopsis

Moscow in the age of Stalin and a mysterious stranger appears in a park. Soon he and his retinue have astonished the locals with the magic show to end all magic shows and have quite literally set the town alight. But what's the real purpose behind their visit? And what the devil has it to do with the gorgeous and sensual Margarita? Or with her lover the Master, a writer whose masterpiece has been silenced by earthly powers. Will anyone solve the mystery before the night of the spring full moon? A crazy roller-coaster, a wicked satire and a poignant love-story, with vampires, flying broomsticks and a talking cat. Contains nudity and some violent imagery.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 19 December 2012

Complicité's extraordinary staging of Bulgakov's 'unadaptable' The Master and Margarita has returned to the Barbican, providing a welcome opportunity for those of us who missed it the first time to see what all the fuss is about.

The cast is slightly different this time round, most notably with Susan Lynch replacing Sinéad Matthews (who is in The Changeling at the Young Vic) as Margarita. But the fuss is still justified, and I staggered out after three and half hours feeling much as I expected to - utterly overwhelmed with ideas and imagery.

Simon McBurney has honed a technique of storytelling that embraces pretty much every theatrical style you care to mention, yet manages to feel anything but derivative. For example when Behemoth (a foul-mouthed feline created by puppet masters Blind Summit) br...

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Latest User Review

David Robinson - 17 January 2013:

Unreal, surreal, superb, phantasmagorical, fantastic and immensely thought-provoking, - What else can I say?...

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