Latest news with #TheMasterandMargarita
Indian Express
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
5 songs you did not know were inspired by novels
Art often echoes, borrows, or builds on what came before it, transcending the boundaries of time, space, and medium. Paintings have inspired poems, and novels have inspired films, and artists and writers often use music as as inspiration. Musicians, too, often draw inspiration from other art forms, depicting them sonically through lyrics, beats, and melodies. Here are a few songs by rock bands that are directly influenced inspired by characters, stories, and themes of renowned literary works: White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane adds a sinister tone to the classic children's tale, a stark contrast to the childlike wonder that is associated with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Maple press, pages 120, Rs 125) authored by Lewis Carroll. Released in 1967, the song portrays the experience of taking psychedelics which was characteristic to the counterculture movement in the 1960s. Beginning with the lines, 'One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small', the song uses Alice's eccentric and whimsical experiences in Wonderland to describe the experience of taking psychedelics. The eerie instrumental accompanied with the powerful and haunting vocals, creates a surreal atmosphere that reflects the effect of psychedelics on the mind. With a title that directly refers to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (Penguin Select Classics, pages 304, Rs 199), 2+2=5 by Radiohead tells the story of the narrator who is trapped in an Orwellian regime. The statement, 'Two and two makes five' in the novel illustrates how the Party maintains absolute control over logic and thinking of its subjects; it symbolises total submission to the authoritarian regime and the complete disintegration of individual thought. The narrator in the song is a subject of such an authoritative regime. The sudden shift in the pace and tone of the song is indicative of the narrator's inner dilemma between choosing to be a subject of this regime or revolting against it. Also by Anosha Rishi | How Bookstagram is changing the way we discover and discuss books One of The Police's most popular songs, Don't Stand So Close To Me, a groovy pop rock song about a sensual relationship between a teacher and his student, is inspired by Vladimir Nabokov's most renowned novel, Lolita (Penguin, pages 368, Rs 550). The desire of the teacher mirrors that of Humbert, the protagonist of the novel who was infatuated with a young girl, Lolita. Lolita is infamous for the age-gap between the two characters and the immoral acts executed by Humbert to be closer to her. The song directly refers to Humbert: 'It's no use, he sees her he starts to shake and cough, Just like the old man in the book by Nabakov'. The Rolling Stones' Sympathy For The Devil is inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov's novel, The Master and Margarita (Penguin, pages 432, Rs 399). The lyrics are written from the perspective of a devil reminiscent of Woland, the devil from The Master and Margarita, who arrives in Moscow and incites chaos while helping The Master, a novelist who is the protagonist of the novel. The devil in the song also recalls some of the same historical events as the novel, such as the crucifixion of Jesus which holds great significance in the novel. The song explores moral ambiguity which is one of the major themes of the novel embodied in the character of Woland. The playful instrumental, with elements of samba music, adds a flair of devilishness to the song. Weaving fantasy into rock, Ramble On by Led Zeppelin directly references locations and characters from The Lord of The Rings in the lines, 'Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair, but Gollum and the Evil One, crept up and slipped away with her'. Ramble On is a song about love and heartbreak from the perspective of someone who left their past lover behind and is now on the search for a greater love. Incorporating elements of fantasy adds a surprising twist to a classic narrative. Led Zeppelin has referenced The Lord of The Rings in their other songs as well, such as Misty Mountain Hop and The Battle of Evermore. Written by an intern with
Indian Express
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
7 songs you did not know were inspired by novels
Art often echoes, borrows, or builds on what came before it, transcending the boundaries of time, space, and medium. Paintings have inspired poems, and novels have inspired films, and artists and writers often use music as as inspiration. Musicians, too, often draw inspiration from other art forms, depicting them sonically through lyrics, beats, and melodies. Here are a few songs by rock bands that are directly influenced inspired by characters, stories, and themes of renowned literary works: White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane adds a sinister tone to the classic children's tale, a stark contrast to the childlike wonder that is associated with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Maple press, pages 120, Rs 125) authored by Lewis Carroll. Released in 1967, the song portrays the experience of taking psychedelics which was characteristic to the counterculture movement in the 1960s. Beginning with the lines, 'One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small', the song uses Alice's eccentric and whimsical experiences in Wonderland to describe the experience of taking psychedelics. The eerie instrumental accompanied with the powerful and haunting vocals, creates a surreal atmosphere that reflects the effect of psychedelics on the mind. With a title that directly refers to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (Penguin Select Classics, pages 304, Rs 199), 2+2=5 by Radiohead tells the story of the narrator who is trapped in an Orwellian regime. The statement, 'Two and two makes five' in the novel illustrates how the Party maintains absolute control over logic and thinking of its subjects; it symbolises total submission to the authoritarian regime and the complete disintegration of individual thought. The narrator in the song is a subject of such an authoritative regime. The sudden shift in the pace and tone of the song is indicative of the narrator's inner dilemma between choosing to be a subject of this regime or revolting against it. Also by Anosha Rishi | How Bookstagram is changing the way we discover and discuss books One of The Police's most popular songs, Don't Stand So Close To Me, a groovy pop rock song about a sensual relationship between a teacher and his student, is inspired by Vladimir Nabokov's most renowned novel, Lolita (Penguin, pages 368, Rs 550). The desire of the teacher mirrors that of Humbert, the protagonist of the novel who was infatuated with a young girl, Lolita. Lolita is infamous for the age-gap between the two characters and the immoral acts executed by Humbert to be closer to her. The song directly refers to Humbert: 'It's no use, he sees her he starts to shake and cough, Just like the old man in the book by Nabakov'. The Rolling Stones' Sympathy For The Devil is inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov's novel, The Master and Margarita (Penguin, pages 432, Rs 399). The lyrics are written from the perspective of a devil reminiscent of Woland, the devil from The Master and Margarita, who arrives in Moscow and incites chaos while helping The Master, a novelist who is the protagonist of the novel. The devil in the song also recalls some of the same historical events as the novel, such as the crucifixion of Jesus which holds great significance in the novel. The song explores moral ambiguity which is one of the major themes of the novel embodied in the character of Woland. The playful instrumental, with elements of samba music, adds a flair of devilishness to the song. Weaving fantasy into rock, Ramble On by Led Zeppelin directly references locations and characters from The Lord of The Rings in the lines, 'Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair, but Gollum and the Evil One, crept up and slipped away with her'. Ramble On is a song about love and heartbreak from the perspective of someone who left their past lover behind and is now on the search for a greater love. Incorporating elements of fantasy adds a surprising twist to a classic narrative. Led Zeppelin has referenced The Lord of The Rings in their other songs as well, such as Misty Mountain Hop and The Battle of Evermore.
Tatler Asia
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Tatler Asia
9 magical realism literature for the jet-set book club
2. 'Beloved' by Toni Morrison Above 'Beloved' by Toni Morrison (Photo: Vintage Classics) In Morrison's haunted tale of a runaway enslaved woman, magical realism becomes a way to process intergenerational trauma. The ghost of a dead child—named Beloved—returns not to comfort but to disrupt. Morrison's language is hypnotic, but never indulgent. Here, the genre does not entertain so much as indict. It insists that certain truths can only be told through the unreal. 3. 'The Master and Margarita' by Mikhail Bulgakov Above 'The Master and Margarita' by Mikhail Bulgakov (Photo: Vintage Classics) A talking cat named Behemoth, Satan visiting 1930s Moscow and a manuscript that refuses to burn—this novel is outrageous in premise yet razor-sharp in satire. Bulgakov uses magical realism to lampoon Soviet censorship and artistic cowardice. For those tired of solemn symbolism, this offers irreverence with bite. It's best read with vodka, or perhaps while waiting for a delayed flight out of Sheremetyevo. 4. 'Pedro Páramo' by Juan Rulfo Above 'Pedro Páramo' by Juan Rulfo (Photo: Serpent's Tail Classics) Sparse, elliptical and eerie, Rulfo's novel helped shape Latin American magical realism long before it became fashionable. When Juan Preciado arrives in the ghost town of Comala to find his father, he discovers a village populated by murmurs and memories. This isn't a page-turner—it's a slow descent. Still, its compact length makes it a perfect read between check-ins and cocktails. 5. 'The House of the Spirits' by Isabel Allende Above 'The House of the Spirits' by Isabel Allende (Photo: Vintage Classics) Allende's debut blends family saga with political upheaval in postcolonial Chile. Critics have debated whether it's derivative of Márquez, but the book holds its own in its exploration of matriarchal memory, spiritual visions and domestic power. Magical realism here is a tool of female resistance, quietly upending a patriarchal world through the domestic and the divine. 6. 'The Famished Road' by Ben Okri Above 'The Famished Road' by Ben Okri (Photo: Vintage Classics) Okri's Booker Prize-winning novel follows Azaro, a spirit child caught between life and the afterlife in postcolonial Nigeria. The prose can veer toward the ornamental, but it captures a world where ancestors interrupt daily life and reality pulses with unseen energies. Magical realism, in Okri's hands, becomes both political and philosophical. It's not a casual read, nor should it be. 7. 'The Palm-Wine Drinkard' by Amos Tutuola Above 'The Palm-Wine Drinkard' by Amos Tutuola (Photo: Faber & Faber) A chaotic, exhilarating plunge into Yoruba folklore, Tutuola's novel is unlike anything in the Western canon. It was derided when first published in 1952, but later celebrated for its raw invention. The narrator's quest through spirit lands and shapeshifting creatures may lack polish, but it pulses with authenticity. Magical realism here is deeply rooted, drawing power from oral traditions rather than literary fashion. 8. 'Kafka on the Shore' by Haruki Murakami Above 'Kafka on the Shore' by Haruki Murakami (Photo: Vintage) A boy runs away from home. A man talks to cats. A storm of leeches falls from the sky. Murakami's novel is cryptic but deliberate, filled with riddles rather than revelations. The surreal elements aren't decorative—they form the architecture of the characters' emotional landscapes. While not all critics agree on calling it magical realism, the novel's refusal to distinguish dream from reality puts it firmly in the genre's most modern lineage. Best read in transit, when your sense of time and space is already in flux. 9. 'Like Water for Chocolate' by Laura Esquivel Above 'Like Water for Chocolate' by Laura Esquivel (Photo: Black Swan) A cookbook of longing disguised as a novel, Esquivel's story of forbidden love and inherited recipes popularised magical realism for a broader audience. Tita's emotions infuse her cooking, causing dinner guests to weep or lust depending on the dish. Though its popularity has led some to dismiss it as sentimental, the novel's sensual intelligence remains sharp. It turns domestic ritual into rebellion, a theme as relevant in contemporary kitchens as it is in literature. For the jet-set reader, magical realism offers more than a surreal detour. It's a way of seeing—one that acknowledges beauty without denying brutality, and wonder without abandoning doubt. These books are not whimsical escapes. They are invitations to reconsider what we take for granted about reality, especially when viewed from a window seat at 35,000 feet. NOW READ 7 upgraded travel essentials for the savvy flyer's wellness kit From sleep tourism to 'quietcations: 4 wellness travel trends for the weary 7 inspiring wellness books for a grounded, mindful life
Washington Post
30-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
A play about the 2017 Charlottesville rally, and a rock musical with the devil
Do you associate the Devil only with evil? Think again. In the savory new musical 'Professor Woland's Black Magic Rock Show' the archfiend leaves justice in his wake. The Spooky Action Theater production is one of several current shows that ponder polarized extremes: Peace and violence. Inclusive and exclusionary visions of America. Cosmic yins and yangs. 'Professor Woland' adapts 'The Master and Margarita,' Mikhail Bulgakov's Stalin-era novel about the Devil and his retinue wreaking havoc in Soviet Moscow. The musical's creators, including book writers Jesse Rasmussen and Elizabeth Dinkova (the latter directs), shrewdly reimagine the tale's demonic characters as louche but charismatic rock musicians performing in a dive bar. Strutting around a cabaret stage, the Satan-esque Woland (Fran Tapia, radiating shady bravado) introduces us to a mortal Moscow writer, the Master (Camilo Linares), whom authorities have forcibly disappeared after they perceived his Pontius Pilate-themed novel to be subversive. His lover, Margarita (Jordyn Taylor), is in agony until Woland's team recruits her to host a consequential diabolical ball. Dinkova and her colleagues made some savvy choices in condensing Bulgakov's epic masterpiece, preserving its wicked humor and elegiac sadness, while necessarily sacrificing much anti-Stalinist satire. The musical's plot twists and numerous characters may dizzy audiences new to the tale, and the Master-Margarita love affair, which is not the most interesting part of Bulgakov's novel, gets too much focus. But the prog rock score, an intoxicating weave of haunting hooks and propulsive verses, composed by Michael Pemberton, who wrote the lyrics with Andrea Pemberton, is an excellent match for Woland's anarchic energy. It helps that most actors double as musicians. Bassist Danny Santiago nails the rascally fallen angel Azazello, while ace guitarist Oliver Dyer, cellist Jeremy Allen Crawford and music director Marika Countouris vividly channel additional demons, and flutist Stephen Russell Murray sings beautifully as a crazed poet. Luis Garcia's projections are vital to capturing a phantasmagoric world. The musical's final song, 'Time to Go (Moscow Goodbye),' does reach too overtly for political relevance. By contrast, such relevance is essential to Priyanka Shetty's '#Charlottesville,' a methodical, sometimes stirring solo play recalling the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in the college town. Now in a world premiere run at the Keegan Theatre in partnership with Voices Festival Productions, the play draws on interviews with more than a hundred Charlottesville-area residents, plus court transcripts and news reports. Directed by Yury Urnov, Shetty does a reasonable job calibrating diction and mannerisms as she channels people who witnessed, or were affected by, the 2017 events: A sweetly callow student. A seething local musician. And, most movingly, the desolate mother of Heather D. Heyer, who died when an avowed neo-Nazi rammed his car through a crowd. Other moments chillingly summon alt-right voices, sometimes through Shetty's mimicry and sometimes with video of white supremacists and their memes. (Dylan Uremovitch designed the projections and lighting.) Interwoven with Shetty's own experiences as a University of Virginia graduate student, and unfurling on Matthew J. Keenan's cracked-marble-like set, which evokes national ideals, '#Charlottesville' asks whether Unite the Right was an aberration or a strand in long-term American bigotry. A more abstract confrontation between civilization and savagery drives German author Rebekka Kricheldorf's blunt-force satire 'Testosterone,' running in Neil Blackadder's English translation in an ExPats Theatre production. The 2012 fable tells of smug doctors Solveig and Ingo (Amberrain Andrews and Elgin Martin), who live in a walled, moated community, initially safe from a violent dystopia. But when their well-intentioned plan to help a sex worker change profession irks a crime boss (Bruce Alan Rauscher, all jovial menace), only Ingo's amoral and hyper-macho brother Raul (a swaggering Gary DuBreuil) can help. As Raul boasts about his kills, weight-lifts with furniture and flaunts his victims' mutilated body parts, the play explores how primal urges like aggression and sexual desire might make a mockery of society's rules of behavior. Director Karin Rosnizeck's production boasts effective touches, like baroquely grim news footage (Jonathan Dahm Robertson is scenic/projections designer), but scenes can be stiff, and the play's Grand Guignol swerves will not appeal to everyone. Still, the concepts here, as in the other two shows, are a reminder that theater can offer bracing ideas that help us navigate reality. Professor Woland's Black Magic Rock Show, through April 13 at the Universalist National Memorial Church in Washington. About 2 hours including intermission. #Charlottesville, through April 13 at the Keegan Theatre in Washington. About 70 minutes, no intermission. Testosterone, through April 6 at Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington. About 90 minutes, no intermission.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Under the baobab: Community gathers to remember Osagie 6 years after tragic death
Ramadan Mubarak. Kul 'am wa enta bi-khair. Happy Holi. Chag Pesach Sameach. The usual beautiful people were gathered at Unity Church of Jesus Christ on Thursday for the annual Osaze Osagie Scholarship dinner, 'Heart & Soul: Celebrate Connection, Kindness and Community,' welcomed by senior Pastors Harold and Sherren McKenzie, executive Pastor Ephraim McKenzie and congregation members. Professors Iyun and Sylvester Osagie, Osaze's parents, greeted supporters with loving hugs as we all recalled with sad fondness their gentle son. State College Mayor Ezra Nanes was the MC. Attendees included Community & Campus in Unity chair Terry Watson; Dean Clarence Lang from Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts; Professor Jennifer Hamer; State College Borough Council members Gopal Balachandran, Kevin Kassab and Nalini Krishnankutty; Patton Township Supervisor Pamela Robb; school board candidate Jesse Barlow; neighbor Shih-In Ma; NAACP officer Leslie Laing and more. The gathering honored the memory of Osaze Osagie, who was tragically killed by police at his apartment on March 20, 2019. The officers had come to serve a 302 warrant, which would've allowed them to take Osaze to the emergency room to have a doctor evaluate his mental state and determine if he should be hospitalized. It was the first fatal police shooting in the department's 103-year history. We are a different community because of what happened to Osaze. Transformed by grief, we now know that catastrophe can happen in Happy Valley. Yet we are made stronger in the realization we can overcome such difficulties if we work together. Elsewhere around town Professor Matt Jordan, Bellisario College of Communications, screened 'The Master and Margarita,' directed by Michael Lockshin, at The State Theatre. Based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, the fantasy-drama film addressed speech freedom and censorship. Despite attacks by Russian state news and officials, it became the highest grossing 18+ content film ever released in Russia, earning $27 million. The screening was followed by an insightful discussion with the director Lockshin, Prof. Jordan, Russian Professor Irina Mikaelian and Adrian Wanner, Distinguished Professor of Slavic Languages and Comparative Literature. Congrats to Penn State sports teams. The men's gymnastics team won the Big Ten regular season championship and now move on to the NCAA tournament in Ann Arbor. The Philly sports news called the PSU wrestling team a 'dynasty.' They advanced all ten wrestlers to the national quarterfinals. The Nittany Lions women's ice hockey team concluded the 2024-25 season with 31 victories, the most in program history. The team's 19 AHA wins set a conference single-season record. WPSU and the State College Area School District collaborate on their annual Multicultural Children's Festival on Saturday at the State College Area High School from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The first 750 kids who attend will receive a PBS Kids Passport booklet. The Penn State Traditional American Indian Powwow organized by Professor Emeritus John Sanchez will be held at C3 Sports Complex on March 29-30. The PSU College of Liberal Arts, Department of Philosophy, Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Rock Ethics Institute will present a conference, 'The Dialectics of Freedom: The Critical Theory of Angela Davis,' on Friday, March 28 at 3:30 p.m. in 101 Chambers. Davis, distinguished professor emerita, UC, Santa Cruz, will deliver the keynote, 'We Can Always Hope for Something More: Freedom as the Journey that Never Ends.' The conference continues Saturday, March 29, in Marriott Foundation Building, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. And the School of Theatre will present 'Love's Labour's Lost: The Musical' based on Shakespeare's play and adapted by Michael Friedman and Alex Timbers, directed and choreographed by Christine O'Grady with music by Ben Kiley. The musical runs April 1-12. The Center for the Performing Arts will present 'Duck Pond' on Saturday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m. at Eisenhower Auditorium. It is a touching, funny and entertaining tale using dance and music created by Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa Ensemble. Stay strong. Charles Dumas is a lifetime political activist, a professor emeritus from Penn State, and was the Democratic Party's nominee for U.S. Congress in 2012. He lives with his partner and wife of 50 years in State College.
