Once upon a time, Russia was in the grip of repressive overlords with zero tolerance for anything considered different to the norm. Hard to believe, hey? The dark days of Stalin inspired Mikhail Bulgakov to write his Soviet satire classic, The Master And Margarita.
In keeping with their tradition of deconstructing classic texts, the Daniel Schlusser Ensemble take elements of Buglakov’s surreal work and make it their own. The book reads like a densely packed series of dark fables, so there’s plenty to get cracking on with, yet the play unfolds at a very gradual pace and starts its confined action in the early morning. Once things get going, telephone conversations begin but are abruptly cut off, interrogative questions are asked but never answered, and routines are performed but seemingly without any purpose. Sometimes it feels like there’s nothing happening on stage and then it suddenly seems like everything is happening at once (and often, it achieves the sensation of chaos and inertia happening at the same time).
Characters, anecdotes and imagery from The Master And Margarita crop up in various ways, from the recollections of one character’s decapitation to a giant cat whose suggested presence casts a dark shadow. Most importantly, the production achieves that same unsettling balance between sadistic power-play and inane pondering.
After an engrossing first hour, M+M mercilessly grinds its audience down in its last quarter, with Michael Pulsford’s earsplitting musical piece creating an oppressive, claustrophobic atmosphere. It forms an eye-opening exploration of Russia’s sinister past, though the clever integration of the Pussy Riot topic is a stark reminder that expressing opposing opinions continues to have grave ramifications in the present day.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
