‘The Master and Margarita’ demolishes the fourth wall

The production of "The Master and Margarita" at the New National Theatre, Tokyo stars (from left) Eisuke Shinoi, Songha and Maria Kano in the lead roles. | NOBUHIKO HIKIJI | COURTESY OF NEW NATIONAL THEATRE, TOKYO

Nov 12, 2026

Written prior to World War II and only released in the late 1960s when Soviet censorship loosened, “The Master and Margarita,” the novel by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov, is now a beloved classic and has sparked a multitude of adaptations, but not without its devilish challenges.

The genre-melding dual narrative of the devil’s fantastical adventures in Stalinist Moscow is structured as a novel within a novel: Bulgakov juxtaposes the supernatural action in Russia with a realistic narrative set in historical Judea, detailing the meeting between Pontius Pilate and Yeshua, the Hebrew name for Jesus of Nazareth.

This structure makes the story difficult to transpose for visual media, which explains why it historically has been tackled mostly in experimental theater. However, the last decade has seen a marked increase in mainstream adaptations. The Bolshoi Ballet’s 2021 version, Australia’s Belvoir Street Theatre’s production in 2023 and Michael Lockshin’s 2024 film have all garnered popular and critical acclaim.

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