The White Guard

Following the successes of Russian epics Burnt by the Sun and Philistines, the National stages Andrew Upton’s vigorous new version of Mikhail Bulgakov’s rarely performed masterpiece, unrivalled in its depiction of the near-farcical mayhem of civil war across a vast and vivid canvas.

In Kiev during the Russian Civil War, the Turbin household is sanctuary to a ragtag, close-knit crowd presided over by the beautiful Lena. As her brothers prepare to fight for the White Guard, friends charge in from the riotous streets amidst an atmosphere of heady chaos, quaffing vodka, keeling over, declaiming, taking baths, playing guitar, falling in love.

But the new regime is poised and in its brutal triumph lies destruction for the Turbins and their world.

NT Associate Howard Davies directs this major new production of The White Guard, featuring a fantastic NT ensemble cast.