Peter Morgan’s New Broadway Play ‘Patriots’ Gives ‘The Crown’ Treatment To Russian Politics

In the new play Patriots, The Crown creator Peter Morgan delves into the enigmatic world of Russian politics and oligarchs’ role in constructing modern Russian history. 

Through the play, Morgan, renowned for his portrayal of villainous characters, seizes the opportunity to expose a Byzantine spectrum of moral values through four Russian men, as their destinies intricately intertwined in the post-Soviet era.

“There’s a sort of violence,” Morgan recently told The New York Times of the play. “Whereas in The Crown, there’s this politeness and there’s repression, and it’s very female. There’s something very male, very violent about this play. It felt like a natural thing to do, having spent so much time in the one world to go into another world just to relax a little.”

Among the numerous influential individuals who contributed to Putin’s meteoric rise, Morgan selected Boris Berezovsky as the play’s focal point. Berezovsky, known as “the Jew behind the czar,” assumes center stage as the quintessential protagonist.

The storyline traces the ascent and downfall of Berezovsky, portrayed by Michael Stuhlbarg, who masterfully embodies the enigmatic oligarch. A prodigious mathematician, Berezovsky, dubbed a “golden child” by one of his teachers, amasses a vast fortune through ventures in the automotive, oil and television industries, subsequently establishing himself as a prominent political force.

“The thing that Boris had to take to his grave is that he weaponized Putin through his own transgressions, being so voraciously greedy, stealing from the Russian state,” Morgan observed. Once Putin got to the top and clamped down on the oligarchs, Berezovsky, stripped of power, became “a reluctant revolutionary.”

Known for his blend of meticulous research with imaginative storytelling, Morgan continued to uncover the more profound dramatic truth of history rather than a mere factual account. As he did with The Crown, the writer consults a panel of Russian advisers to ensure an authentic portrayal in Patriots. Careful not to demonize Russia, Morgan immerses himself in the company of individuals closely associated with Berezovsky.

Patriots is now playing on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Get tickets here.

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