Theatre Royal show nominated for two Olivier Awards

A show produced in association with the Theatre Royal Plymouth has been nominated for two Olivier Awards.

Plymouth audiences were the first to experience 'The Master & Margarita', a brand new piece from internationally renowned theatre company Complicite, when it opened here with three exclusive performances before touring Europe, including a run at the Barbican Theatre in London.  It is a retelling of the novel of the same name by Mikhail Bulgakov, a fantastical tale of Satan’s reckoning with 1930s Russia and an analysis of good, evil, innocence and guilt.

Complicite’s Artistic Director Simon McBurney has been nominated for Best Director for the production at the Barbican Theatre.  The panel said, “McBurney transformed Mikhail Bulgakov’s seminal political novel into an epic theatrical experience combining puppetry, magic and his trademark technologically innovative style to create a vivid world spanning heaven and hell, reality and dreams.”

Paul Anderson has also been nominated for the Best Lighting Design award, with the panel saying, “Anderson stunned audiences with his innovative lighting design, which utilised light beams to reveal numerous locations across the expanse of the Barbican’s stage, adding to the technical invention, stage trickery and visual flair of Complicite’s epic production.”

The Master & Margarita was co-produced by Complicite, Barbican London, Les Theatres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Wiener Festwochen and Festival D’Avignon in association with Theatre Royal Plymouth.

The Olivier Awards with Mastercard are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre and have become a mark of theatrical greatness. Winners are chosen by a panel of professionals selected for their knowledge of theatre, opera and dance.  The winners will be announced in a ceremony at the Royal Opera House on 28 April, which will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 with a highlights show on ITV.

For the full list of nominees, click here