The internationally acclaimed Theatre Novel by one of the most stimulating Russian authors and playwrights, Mikhail Bulgakov, draws from his extensive experience with Russian theatre which he acquired prior to the Second World War. The grotesque insight into the theatre backstage unveils the passionate world of art, remarkable loves of theatre-makers, as well as everyday operation, envy, intrigues – in sum, everything that is an integral part of theatre. The current staging of the novel inevitably includes the relationship between art and politics, something Bulgakov knew quite intimately: he spent a significant part of his creative life in the Soviet Russia under Stalin. Bulgakov experienced the generalissimo who fundamentally affected his life and work. The production, that includes Bulgakov’s notes about his personal life thus outlines a multifaceted period in history. At the same time, it generalises the relationship between artist and his status vis-à-vis the society and its system. The first Slovak adaptation of Bulgakov’s incomplete novel is brought to you by SKUTR, Czecho–Slovak tandem of directors as the first collaborative venture with the SND.

Running time: 2 hrs 30 mins with one interval