Adapting one of the most respected and influential novels of the last century to a one woman play on a pub theatre stage is a bold thing – and Valeriya Pushkareva has dared to do exactly that. Mikhail Bulgakov‘s The Master And Margarita tells (among many, many other things) about Satan’s arrival in communist Russia, about the mischief his troupe gets up to there in the atheist society of the 1930s and in particular its housing managers and literature circles, and of the New Testament’s gospel according to Pontios Pilate. Read the book on the Underground or in a cafe and those having read it as well will approach you eventually. London promise. Most characters in the book go by two or more names which is confusing enough – here, not all (but still a lot of them) are played by a single woman, only rarely supported by recorded voices from the off. Valeriya Pushkareva switches between them through accessories, gestures and timbre. That clearly is hard work and only rarely paused by a few dances.
You feel her passion for the subject matter she admires so much, and how it hurts her that she cannot grant every creature and word mentioned in the book space on stage. And indeed, with so much love for the novel’s finesse, it is almost surprising there is no mentioning of Anoushka’s sunflower oil, skewed mushrooms or – dare I say it – theatre ticket freeloaders. Valeriya Pushkareva did find some pretty ugly yellow flowers though and I will never read the scenes with them without thinking of her pitiful wannabe bouquet. Those who have Franz Ferdinand’s Love And Destroy and The Rolling Stones‘ Sympathy For The Devil in their playlist will remember what they have not seen: This is an evening from a devotee for the devotees, not for those having given up the book in the first half. But even I am glad I have reread the novel last year. Other, less bookish guests in the audience might have appreciated projected guiding in the background: Colour themes, celestial displays, chandeliers or fireplaces, something for orientation. To show where and when we are, and where and when not.
There would have been easier choices for the scenes and dialogues picked but Valeriya Pushkareva stuck to those focussing on the unhappy wife Margarita whose lover is locked up in a mental hospital and who out of desperation accepts a Faustian deal. Margarita’s Crown Of Shadows is not Bulgakov’s forbidden biting commentary on socialism and neither on theatre politics or dogmatic Christians. Still, Valeriya Pushkareva is not shying away from the very mystical finale of the book either – and if Bulgakov did not make it accessible for his disciples, Valeriya Pushkareva is not achieving this either. Out of choice, out of respect. With so much passion by its playwright and with the right expectations set for the audience, this monodrama has a lot of potential to make it with some enhancement to the next stage. Has there ever been a Bulgakov Theatre Festival?
**** out of 5 stars
Margarita’s Crown Of Shadows was written and performed by Valeriya Pushkareva and ran until 25 January in London’s Etcetera Theatre
Sadie takes the Stage 