The World According to Satan (at the Teatre Lliure)
Àlex Rigola has a faithful view of the text of Bulgakov's 'The Master and Margarita' and is ambitious in its demands on the viewer.
- Author: Mikhail Bulgakov
- Dramaturgy and direction: Àlex Rigola
- Performers: Nao Albet, Frank Capdet, Nilo Cardoner, Biel Duran, Jordi Figueras, Francisco Garrido, Miranda Gas, Roger Julián, Laia Manzanares, Sandra Monclús, Carlota Olcina, Jordi Rico, Carlos Rojo, Xavi Sàez
- Free Theater. Until October 19
Àlex Rigola returns to the Teatre Lliure, which he directed a few years ago (2003-2011), with an ambitious version of Mikhail Bulgakov's monumental work. The Master and MargaritaConsidered one of the most important works of 20th-century Russian literature, we first saw it theatrically in 2003 in a version directed by Xicu Masó that premiered at Lliure de Gràcia as part of the Grec Festival. Pep Tosar would do another very intimate one in 2013 at the small Círcol Maldà and In 2012, the sumptuous and spectacular production of Théâtre du Complicité would arrive by Simon McBurney that fully exploited all the visual possibilities of a novel with traits of the fantasy genre.
It is a complex work that mixes time and space. Moscow in the 1930s, where Satan lands under the mask of a black magic expert and his army of freaks; Galilee with Ponç Pilate investigating the guilt of Yoshua Ga-Nozri (Jesus of Nazareth); the asylum where the Master, author of the book about Ponç Pilate's life, is confined; and the Satanic kingdom that will turn Margarita into a witch and make her the goddess of Satan's great spring ball. The work speaks of power ("all power is violence," Bulgakov tells us), of truth and fiction in the telling of history (did Jesus Christ exist?), of courage and cowardice (the most despicable are the cowards), of the corruption of bureaucrats and careerists.
Àlex Rigola's vision is ambitious in content, quite faithful to the original, and austere in presentation. In a central space barely furnished with a sofa, a table, an armchair, and three cypress trees, and with effective lighting (Raimon Rius), the director focuses on the truth of the performances (fourteen performers), accentuating the difference between the revelry (how they dance, those damned things!) and the damned conversations in Jerusalem. It works. Beyond the Russian name day, the performance speaks to current concerns.
The moment when Satan shows Margarita the genocide on a globe is magnificent. However, the second act seems less well-crafted and fails to convey the sensuality derived from the original. Francesc Garrido's Satan is very histrionic; Xavi Sáez's Koróviev is mischievous; Laia Manzanares's Margarita is a bit soft; Nao Albet's Maestro is phlegmatic; Miranda Gas's Pontius Pilate is powerful.
A good start to the season at the Lliure.
