Fri, 29.5.
7 – 11:10 pm
Tickets
Fri, 29.5.
All & TicketsDates

Photo: Armin Smailovic

MK:

Meister und Margarita

Based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov
Translated by Alexandra Berlina

 Schauspielhaus
 Premiere: 6.3.2026
 approx. 4 hours 10 minutes with intermission
 With English surtitles
 Thu-Sat: 15-45 €, Sun-Wed: 10-40 €, under 30 years each seat category: 10 €
 Schauspielhaus
 Premiere: 6.3.2026
 approx. 4 hours 10 minutes with intermission
 With English surtitles
 Thu-Sat: 15-45 €, Sun-Wed: 10-40 €, under 30 years each seat category: 10 €

The least you can do is believe in the devil!

How does evil come into the world? In any case, the devil is on the loose in the city. Together with his two assistants – one of them in the form of a giant cat – he wreaks havoc in the metropolis, Moscow in the 1930s. The diabolical trio exposes corrupt greed, betrayal and hypocrisy. Only Margarita and her lover, the Master, author of a banned novel, are spared.

Mikhail Bulgakov, born in Kyiv in 1891, died in Moscow in 1940, where he had been writing his novel since 1928, ‘condemned to silence’ under Stalinist repression and censorship, with no prospect of publication. A writer in isolation, powerless to do anything, imagines a devil who brings the conditions of an autocratic system to life with his powerful language. When ‘The Master and Margarita’ was published posthumously in 1966, the novel became a cult classic: many learned it by heart, and the censored passages circulated underground.

The Master and Margarita, this real-fantastic novel, is a labyrinth that is easy to enter but difficult to find your way out of; it is intoxicating and anarchic, dark and funny, moving, confusing and enlightening. It names the greatest of all sins in the world: cowardice.

Jette Steckel, who most recently brought Mephisto to the stage of the Kammerspiele after Vaterlosen (both invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen), once again stages a major political work with The Master and Margarita.

“Certainly, man is mortal, but that’s not the half of it. The worst thing is: he’s mortal all of a sudden. That’s the crux of the matter! Man can’t even say what he’s going to do that self-same evening.”

– from “The Master and Margarita”

We would like to thank the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski for their kind support.
  • surtitling Yvonne Griesel (SPRACHSPIEL)
  • Translation Surtitles Anna Galt
  • assistant director Jakob Elija Seeberger
  • stage design assistant Hans Werner
  • costume assistant Jacqueline Elaine Koch
  • Assistant to the team Lucas-Lionel Jäkel
  • stage management Barbara Stettner
  • soufflage Verena Rendtorff
  • Directing Intern Laura König-Svetozarova
  • Stage Design Intern Lucia Hecke, Hannes Meck
  • Costume intern Mira Bieber, Tabea Helena Tatge
  • Dramatury Intern Sophia Fanelli
  • Hypnosis counseling Thimon von Berlepsch
  • Artistic Production Management Zora Luhnau
  • Production Management Technology Jonas Pim Simon
  • Stage manager Thomas Graml
  • Stage machinery Stefan Egger, Florian Obermeier
  • Signal box Diana Dorn
  • Lighting Felix Adams, Parthasarathi Sampath Kumar, Mirko Mayrold Neubauer, Daniel Prütz
  • Sound Korbinian Wegler, Katharina Widmaier-Zorn
  • Video technology Jens Baßfeld, Daniel Steigthaler, Dirk Windloff
  • Mask Raimund Richar-Vetter, Sofie Reindl-Grüger, Sylvia Janka, Thomas Opatz
  • Costume Bernd Canavan, Marija Ružić, Jessica Watermann, Nico Vanni
  • Props Anette Schultheiss, Sabine Schutzbach, Julia Molloy
  • Carpentry Josef Friesl, Josef Piechatzek, Michael Buhl, Stefan Klodt-Bussmann, Hannes Zippert, Hannes Bickelbacher, Freya Mueller, Franz Wallner
  • Metalwork Fritz Würzhuber, Jürgen Goudenhooft
  • wallpapering Tobias Herzog, Anja Gebauer, Maria Hörger, Tim Hagemeyer
  • Scenic Painting Evi Eschenbach, Jeanette Raue, Jasmin Budde, Natalie Knäble, Ingrid Weindl
  • Performance rights Anaconda Verlag in der Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe GmbH, München

Read more about the life of Mikhail Bulgakov, the circumstances under which ‘The Master and Margarita’ was written, art as resistance – and why people should believe in the devil unconditionally. 

Silhouettes of two people against a bright textured wall, one holding a guitar with one arm raised, the other sitting on a stool
13.4.
Junge Nacht „Meister und Margarita“

Preview visit and artist talk with the audience and actors from the production, moderated by the Kammer Club, directly after the performance

Press reviews

“The production pulsates from beginning to end, with no dull moments despite its nearly four-hour running time, provoking loud laughter and touching moments of reflection. An evening that is itself the best example of its message: art can create new worlds. Because art has power.”

nachtkritik.de • 7.3.26

“Steckel relocates the abstruse plot to a completely abstract space, structured by curtains made of delicate metal chains, partly nested behind or next to each other—a sophisticated stage invention by Florian Lösche, supported by Maximilian Kraußmüller’s magical lighting design.”

Süddeutsche Zeitung • 8.3.26

“Like the novel, Jette Steckel attempts to break the rules of dramaturgy.”

Fazit • 7.3.26

“(…)so gripping that you laugh, marvel, fear, analyze, and learn to be afraid.”

Salzburger Nachrichten • 8.3.26

“(…)full of enchanting moments that celebrate the power of art and imagination in the most beautiful and crazy way. Because the ensemble, which also includes Erwin Aljukić, Linda Pöppel, and Edmund Telgenkämper, is impressive across the board.”

Die junge Bühne • 8.3.26

“My goodness, how exceptionally talented is this ensemble?”

Münchner Merkur • 9.3.26

“(…)a furious spectacle about power and powerlessness.”

Abendzeitung • 9.3.26

“This production (‘dedicated to all artists in isolation’) is top-notch and has the makings of a cult classic. The audience remains wide awake, the applause seems endless.”

Brander Live Blog • 7.3.26

“Jette Steckel has once again hit the mark with ”The Master and Margarita“ – supported by an exceptionally diverse and enthusiastic ensemble.”

 

 

Schabel Kultur Blog • 7.3.26

Wiebke Puls as the devil(…)smiling, lurking, cynical, confident of victory.

Kultur-extra, das online Magazin • 8.3.26

Dates & Tickets

  • Mon 13.4. 7 – 11:10 pm

    Introduction from 6:30 pm

    Young night afterwards

    Monday subscription
  • Sat 18.4. 7 – 11:10 pm

    Introduction from 6:30 pm

    Saturday subscription
  • Mon 18.5. 7 – 11:10 pm

    Introduction from 6:30 pm

  • Fri 22.5. 7 – 11:10 pm

    Introduction from 6:30 pm

    Friday subscription
  • Fri 29.5. 7 – 11:10 pm
  • Wed 10.6. 7 pm
    Wednesday subscription
    On sale from 4.5.
  • Sun 14.6. 4 pm
    Sunday afternoon subscription
    On sale from 4.5.
Meister und Margarita
  • Schauspielhaus
  • Premiere: 6.3.2026
  • approx. 4 hours 10 minutes with intermission
  • With English surtitles
  • Thu-Sat: 15-45 €, Sun-Wed: 10-40 €, under 30 years each seat category: 10 €