Collaborators

a new play by John Hodge

4 STARS 'Dream casting of Alex Jennings as Bulgakov and Simon Russell Beale as Stalin... A truly tremendous double act which thrills, chills and makes you laugh out loud - even though you know you shouldn't.' Daily Telegraph

4 STARS ‘Collaborators is fresh and energetic, with a thick, throbbing vein of grotesque humour.’ Evening Standard

4 STARS ‘Rare and special… An absurdly fantastic view of Stalin, and it’s seriously funny.’ The Times

A limited number of tickets are available for Collaborators performances in the Cottesloe Theatre
Collaborators transfers to the Olivier on 30 April - tickets available.

Day Tickets at £12 will be available for every performance.

National Theatre Live

Collaborators was broadcast to cinemas across the UK and around the world on 1 December 2011 as part of National Theatre Live. For future screenings, find your nearest cinema and book.

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.

Discover more about Mikhail Bulgakov. 

Advance tickets for all current performances have sold out. More performances will be announced and go on sale to members in November.

 

original photos © Corbis

Collaborators finished on: 31 March 2012