The Master & Margarita
From the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov
Adapted by Edward Kemp
Directed by Louis Contey
At Strawdog Theatre, Chicago
“Manuscripts don’t burn”–The Master
Highly theatrical and imaginative production of Stalin-Ear Russian satirical is a masterpiece!
Under director Louis Contey and his creative team, Mikhail Bulgakov’s stinging novel satirical of Russian bureaucratic censorship penned in the 1930’s (finished in 1940 but not published until 1967 with much censored Soviet edits), becomes a manically pleasing journey and a fine evening of theatre.
Edward Kemp’s adaptation of the Bulgakov novel opens with a scene from a ‘play-within-a-play’ that depicts Pontius Pilate (Ian Maxwell) interrogating a loner rebellious person (Jesus Christ?). We quickly see that this scene is a rehearsal of The Master’s (Dennis Grimes) new play. This playwright is being hassled by the local Soviet censors. He is desperately trying to get his script produced. This pressure sends him into a deep despair than even his lover, Margarita (Justine C. Turner) can get him to shake. His play is shut down and rewritten and he is institutionalized for mental illness.
Enter Woland – a “foreign professor” who is “in Moscow to present a performance of ‘black magic’ and then expose its machinations.” He is a Goethe’s Faust-type devil figure, who, together with his companions including a large talking black cat named Behemoth (Anderson Lawfer), have come to use their magic, violence and a party to show the bureaucrats that they can’t be censored.
This ambitious production has many interesting scenes with use of masks, movement, humor (even camp) to satirize the Russian bureaucracy. The cast of 18 work hard making the complex and shifting story moving while never slowing the pace nor the creativity. Themes of cowardice, trust, intellectual curiosity, and redemption are vividly depicted with use of allegory and stinging satire. The show is manic, well acted, especially by Dennis Grimes, The Master; Justine C. Turner, Margarita and Tom Hickey as Woland. You’ll be impressed with the theatricality and surprised at the plot twists that cumulatively make for an effective play. The judicious use of metaphor and imagery fuel this artful production. Contey’s production works nicely on all levels. Kudos to Strawdog Theatre Company for attempting and succeeding in mounting an enticing production of The Master and Margarita. See this show to witness one of the best storefront theatre productions this year!
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: March 12, 2011
For full show information, check out The Master and Margarita page at Theatre In Chicago.
At Strawdog Theatre Company, 3829 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL, call 773-528-9696, www.strawdog.org, Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 4 pm, running time is 2 hours, 40 minutes with intermission, through April 2, 2011