The Master and Margarita

Published Tuesday 31 August 2004 at 11:40 by Susan Elkin

David Rudkin’s spicily topical take on Mickail Bulgakov’s anti-Stalinist subversive novel is an ideal vehicle - almost a showcase - for a luxuriously large cast of energetic young actors eager to show what they can do. And they can certainly do a lot. It is fast moving, the direction is slick and if the plot is fairly impenetrable, just take it as a metaphor for 21st century bureaucratic Britain.

If we really are selling our souls Faustus-like to the devil, then he certainly has the silky polish, face and assertive voice of Woland (Tom Allen) as he effortlessly despatches everyone to their social and sexual fate.

Among an outstanding cast, Matt Smith as Bassoon has mercurial versatility and commanding stage presence as he bounds among roles-within-roles and accents. Dean Nolan’s lumbering feline Behemoth is both highly accomplished and very funny. Lucy Atkinson creates an hilarious cameo out of the manic secretary and Charlie Covell is a chilling and disturbingly convincing female detective inspector.

The driving theatricality of the piece is extraordinary. Its episodic structure means that surprises come thick and fast. The flying sequence in which Shakira Brooking’s character becomes a witch and takes to the air, lit in ultraviolet, works beautifully for example. So does the nightclub scene in which Harry Melling comperes flanked by tap dancers Sally Crashaw and Beth Stobbart. And the ballroom scene is a real tour de force.

National Youth Theatre has proved itself yet again to be a fine training ground. I think we shall see more of many of these young people.