1. Jesus and the Critic

Available for 29 days

**** This programme was suggested by Chris Sewart, Brendan Murphy and Gill Tierney as part of BBC Radio 4 Extra’s All Request Weekend **** A severed head, a giant talking cat, an invisible guest and two madmen - it's springtime in Moscow! A diabolical visitor unleashes a whirlwind of chaos entangling the city's literary elite. This includes Margarita and her beloved - a condemned writer known only as the Master. Mikhail Bulgakov's fantastical novel is a satire of life in 1930s Soviet Russia. Unpublished during Bulgakov’s lifetime (1891-1940), it was smuggled out of the USSR and first fully published in Paris in 1967. Starring Daniel Massey, Michael Maloney and Geraldine James. Dramatised in four parts by Brian Wright. Woland .... Daniel Massey The Master .... Michael Maloney Margarita .... Geraldine James Bezdomny .... Nigel Anthony Koroviev .... Colin Jeavons Azazello .... John Hollis Behemoth .... David Holt Inspector .... Eric Allan Natasha .... Melanie Hudson Sergeant .... Jonathan Adams Berlioz .... John Fleming Stepa .... John Church Dr Stravinsky .... Peter Penry Jones Nikanor .... John Webb Yeshua .... Jonathan Tafler Nurse .... Melinda Walker Wife .... Linda Polan Translated by Michael Glennie. Director: David Hitchinson First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1992. **** To nominate a programme from the archives that you would like to hear again, please email radio4extra@bbc.co.uk ****