Experimental Blog #92

Comments on "Don Quixote" - a play by Mikhail Afanasevich Bulgakov

Mikhail Bulgakov signed a contract with a soviet theater in December of 1937 to write a play based on the classic novel "Don Quixote de la Mancha" by Miguel de Cervantes. Bulgakov was far from being the first, even first Russian author, to write a stage play on this famous book; and he rewrote, or abridged, his play about 7 times to obtain the approval of the soviet censors. The notes to this play, "Don Quixote", say that each revision generally made the play less comic and more tragic.

The approval of the soviet censors was finally given in January of 1939, but Mikhail Bulgakov died in March, or April, of 1940; right before his play was actually published. However, Bulgakov's "Don Quixote" was performed within a year, or so, in at least 4 cities. In spite of being "safely sovietized", Mikhail Bulgakov's play, which is one of his last works, is still quite interesting, and even funny.