THE MASTER AND MARGARITA. To 24 September.
Chichester
THE MASTER AND MARGARITA
by Mikhail Bulgakov Adapted by Edward Kemp
Chichester Festival Theatre In rep to 24 September 2004
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Mat Thu & Sat 2pm
Audio-described 18 August 2pm, 27 August, 1 September 2pm 3,17,24 September
BSL Signed 18 August 7.30pm
Runs 3hr One interval
TICKETS: 01243 781312
www.cft.org.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 2 August
Bravura staging of a piece where Cowardice is the cardinal sin; a superbly-staged ensemble production of a novel made for and often set in - the theatre.Bulgakov's 1940s Russian fantasy, reaching back to biblical times, moving in and out of the theatre for its settings, and incorporating a troupe of devils, is itself highly theatrical. Though the recent small-scale Greenwich Playhouse production retains its power in the memory, there's no denying Steven Pimlott's major production is an exhilarating spin.
It's helped by Edward Kemp's fine adaptation. True, he begins with the oft-used device of an interrupted rehearsal, takes a long time to introduce the infernal characters, and ends with a series of quiet scenes when a resolution is longed-for. But the great arc of disruption and major set-pieces is superbly crafted.
What gives the piece its force is both its whirl of fantastic activity and the moral questioning, from which no-one is safe - even the playwright-Master's lover Margarita, who, in Clare Holman's performance, is a mix of strength and vulnerability, severity and emotional generosity.
To meet the Master (ensconced in a Soviet asylum after writing a politically incorrect play about Pilate and Jesus) she has to follow the instructions of the Devil, in the guise of magician Woland, turning herself from plain-dressed blonde into a witch with dark, entangled hair and a manner to match.
Samuel West's character would never style himself Master' as Margarita does. Riddled with doubts, he burns his manuscript, knowing official denunciation will lead to trouble. It's a carefully restrained performance Kemp's opening, with The Master standing-in as Christ in his own play for a missing actor, makes the obvious parallel.
But, while obvious, it's not self-evidently parallel. This is a Christ who denies he said what the gospels declare, putting that onto the disciple Matthew. We become who others say we are: that's History. Jonathan Cullen brings a quiet intensity to this alter ego of Matthew and the Master, a hack writer brought in to turn the Pilate play into Soviet propaganda who grows closer to the writer he replaced.
Michael Feast's magnetic Woland leads a truly diabolic troupe. Yet they're morally viewed more ambiguously than the political nihilists Dostoyevsky labelled and condemned as Devils in 19th century Russia, for their targets are the craven yes-people of Stalinist tyranny. In this bravura staging these interlopers with their illusion, violence and sheer malicious delight have, like us, a field-day.
Pontius Pilate/Dr Stravinsky: David Killick
Aloysius: Joe Anderson
The Master: Samuel West
Centurion Ratslayer/Glumov/Archibald Archibaldovich: Ricky Fearon
Trepan Trepanovich: Martin Duncan
Rimsky: Barry McCarthy
Varukha: James Loye
Andrei/Kaifa: Matt Costain
Margarita: Clare Holman
Berlioz: Junix Inocian
Ivan, The Wanderer: Jonathan Cullen
Boris Pagoda: Steve Elias
Ariman: Tom Silburn
Azazello: Graham Turner
Fagott: John Marquez/Toby Sedgewick
Woland/Afranius: Michael Feast
Behemoth: Noma Dumezweni
Hella: Clare Foster
Natasha: Daisy Haggard
Archibaldikova: Vicki McManus
Nurse/Frieda: Anna Lowe
Director: Steven Pimlott
Designer/Season Installation Designer: Alison Chitty
Lighting: Peter Mumford
Sound: Matt McKenzie
Composer: Jason Carr
Musical Director: Dan Jackson
Movement: Toby Sedgewick
Magic Advisor: Tom Silburn
Illusion Design: Scott Penrose
Wig/Hair Design: Romaine Bowman
Assistant director: Philip Breen
Design assistant: Mark Friend
2004-08-03 08:52:57