A new play by John Hodge
Moscow, 1938. A dangerous place to have a sense of humour; even more so a sense of freedom.
Mikhail Bulgakov, living among dissidents, stalked by secret police, has both. And then he’s offered a poisoned chalice: a commission to write a play about Stalin to celebrate his sixtieth birthday. Inspired by historical fact, Collaborators embarks on a surreal journey into the fevered imagination of the writer as he loses himself in a macabre and disturbingly funny relationship with the omnipotent subject of his drama.
Killing my enemies is easy. The challenge is to
change the way they think, to control their minds.
And I think I controlled yours pretty well. In years
to come, I’ll be able to say: Bulgakov? Yeah, we
even trained him. He gave up. He saw the light. We
broke him, we can break anybody. It’s man versus
monster, Mikhail. And the monster always wins.
John Hodge’s blistering new play depicts a lethal game of cat and mouse through which the
appalling compromises and humiliations inflicted on any artist by those with power are held up to
scrutiny. Alex Jennings plays Bulgakov and Simon Russell Beale, Stalin.
Distributor:
Forum Cinemas AS - ESTONIA
Director:
Nicholas Hytner
Cast:
Simon Russell Beale
