The play "The Cabal of Hypocrites": Bulgakov is more relevant than ever

The narrative centers on the final, most dramatic years of the life of the renowned comedy writer Jean-Baptiste Molière. Mikhail Bulgakov, who himself experienced the pressure of the authorities, poured all his pain and accumulated experience into the character of Molière. Written in 1929, the play became for him a unique reflection of his own confrontation with censorship and dependence on the ruler's favor. The story of the playwright, simultaneously supported by the "Sun King" Louis XIV and persecuted by the powerful church "cabal," still resonates as a powerful manifesto for artistic freedom.

Director Yuri Kvyatkovsky, together with stage adaptation author Mikhail Degtyarev, create a complex and multilayered world on stage that transcends a single time. They unite the golden age of Louis XIV, the Stalinist 1930s, and the present day, revealing the eternal paradoxes of an artist's existence. The production seamlessly integrates excerpts from Bulgakov's novel "The Life of Monsieur de Moliere," excerpts from Moliere's own plays, and works by great philosophers, lending the production additional depth and dimension.

The role of the intrigued but unbroken Moliere is played by the theater's artistic director, Konstantin Khabensky. His partner in this onstage confrontation is Nikolai Tsiskaridze (under the pseudonym Maxim Nikolaev), making his stage debut as the cold-blooded and imperious Louis XIV. Their duet is the central element of the production, around which a whirlwind of court intrigue, acting rivalry, love, and betrayal unfolds. A magnificent cast, including Alexandra Rebenok as Madeleine Béjart, complements this powerful production.

Nikolai Simonov's set designs and Igor Chapurin's sumptuous costumes make the production an unforgettable spectacle. However, behind the external gloss lies a profound philosophical drama about the price of compromise, the duality of freedom and slavery, and whether a genius can preserve himself under the protection of tyranny. "The Cabal of Hypocrites" at the Moscow Art Theater is a sharp, uncompromising, and relevant dialogue with the audience about the nature of power, the dignity of an artist, and the courage to be oneself. Tickets for the play "The Cabal of Hypocrites" at the A.P. Chekhov Moscow Art Theater are available on our website.