Patriots

Patriots is the newest play by the renowned British screenwriter and playwright Peter Morgan whose work includes, among others, The Audience (play), The Queen (film), and The Crown (series). The production at the National Theatre Brno is exclusive in that it is only the third one in the world and the very first one in the EU. Its director, Jakub Šmíd, is a rising star of contemporary Czech theatre.

In Patriots, Morgan abandons his usual subject matter of British political backstage and the life of Elizabeth II to venture into an artistically unexplored field, presenting us with the story of the rise of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. In a riveting conversational political drama, he paints a picture of the mysterious, myth-ridden milieu of the Russian oligarchs. The main character of the play is the tragic figure of Boris Berezovsky, the oligarch who installs Putin in the Kremlin believing that he will be his easy-to-control puppet. But he soon discovers how wrong he is about Putin. Berezovsky, an unlikely hero, fights Putin on stage for the tentative germs of Russian freedom and democracy. One of the victims of this struggle is Alexander Litvinenko, an ex-agent whom Putin has poisoned with radioactive polonium.

Šmíd does not treat Morgan’s extraordinary text hyper-realistically, like an imaginary film or a series on stage. With a team of leading Czech scenic designers, stage designer Petr Vítek, lighting designer Karel Šimek, and costume designer Vladimíra Fomínová (winner of the prestigious Czech Lion Award), he creates a grand, non-illusive theatrical spectacle on stage. Set in the studio of a public TV owned by Berezovsky, the play thematises not only the fact that the media played a key role in Putin’s rise but also in his hybrid war against the West. The said studio also becomes a space for the creation of imagery: vivid views of the opulent halls of the Kremlin, cramped Moscow apartments as well as the endless snowy Siberian plains come into being before our eyes in wholly unexpected ways. All of this is crowned by David Hlaváč’s unique atmospheric music.

Šmíd’s creative team is complemented by the dramaturge Vít Kořínek who has long been devoted to analysing Russia and Putin’s totalitarian regime. Thanks to the co-operation of all the aforementioned creators, the production of Patriots at the National Theatre Brno is not only exceptionally spectacular and impressive with the great performances of Tomáš Šulaj (Berezovsky) and Viktor Kuzník (Putin) – but also a probe into the mentality of a nation that is currently seriously threatening the international order and European security.

 

Author Peter Morgan
Translated by Michael Žantovský
Directed by Jakub Šmíd
Dramaturgy by Vít Kořínek
Stage design by Petr Vítek
Costume design by Vladimíra Fomínová
Lighting design by Karel Šimek
Music by David Hlaváč

Premiered on 10th January 2025 at the Mahen Theatre

 

  • “I have truly never experienced such credible portrayal of the Russian mentality of nationalism, corruption, clientelism, and faith in authority – all that in less than three hours of careful observation.”— Tobiáš Míček, Reflex

    ;

  • “There is nothing elementary in this play, and director Jakub Šmíd understood perfectly what the story is and what this story should tell.” — Jana Soukupová, MF Dnes

    ;

  • “The Brno production of Patriots has become a first-class event recently! At least because of the fact that the show’s plot, ideas, and moral core has perhaps never been more topical. A story of human incorrigibility by history and the displacement of conscience, morality, and personal responsibility for whatever we help to bring into the world (be it a dictator, a system or some future miraculous algorithm – anything that does not count on or delegates further and thus removes our personal responsibility), such a story is eternal. And that is why I am calling out to Brno: Thank you!” — Vladimír Just, divadelni.net

    ;

  • “A textbook case of how a contemporary social topic should be portrayed. Absolutely excellent acting as well as costume and stage design which set the atmosphere and emphasise the plot. A great sketch of the atmosphere in Russia at the turn of the millennium, whether the audience has a grasp of those events or not. At the same time, the play is gripping and keeps you alert and full of suspense even though you know how it’s probably going to end up.” — an audience member

    ;

  • “An amazing combination of reality and theatre. Everything in this show is amazing – the music, the set, the costumes, and the actors. The first half is livelier, the second is darker. But for both, I never took my eyes off the stage, there was still something to watch.” — an audience member

    ;

  • “The production gives overwhelming priority to the actors of the story and their relationships. The actors embraced this opportunity as their top task. Especially Tomáš Šulaj as the robust Boris Berezovsky who commands the stage. And, in a completely different way, also Viktor Kuzník’s extremely disciplined performance as the ‘cold’ but all the more effective human creature Putin.” — Jana Soukupová, MF Dnes

    ;

  • “Berezovsky is the central character in this play, and his portrayer Tomáš Šulaj has a real chance of at least a nomination for the Thalia Award (a prestigious Czech theatre award). He convincingly presents a disgustingly confident man with immense wealth who can afford anything.” — Brno Žurnál

    ;