Patriots

by Peter Morgan

If the politicians cannot save Russia, then we businessmen must. We have not just the responsibility but the duty to become Russian heroes.

1991. The Fall of the Soviet Union.

With the dawning of a new Russia, there are winners and losers, and today's patriot can fast become tomorrow's traitor.

As a new generation of oligarchs fights to seize control, we follow billionaire businessman Boris Berezovsky - the 'kingmaker' behind Vladimir Putin - from the president's inner circle to public enemy number one, in this unflinching story of ambition and the dangers of loyalty and love.

Peter Morgan's Patriots opened at the Almeida Theatre, London, in July 2022.

Genres: Plays, Russia, Drama, Theatre, History

116 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 28, 2022

About the author

Peter Julian Robin Morgan, CBE is a British film writer and playwright. Morgan is best known for writing the historical films and plays The Queen, Frost/Nixon, The Damned United, and Rush. He is the creator of Netflix's drama series The Crown.

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, rounded up.

Although well-written and ultimately engaging, I agree with the reviews that the first half is rather meandering before we get down to brass tacks. And it just seems like a missed opportunity in some ways - still, I am a huge Hollander fan and would have loved to have seen the original production, which reopens in the West End in May and is slated for Broadway thereafter.

And yes, Lucy Prebble's A Very Expensive Poison does a much better job detailing much of the same story from a different angle.

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/202...
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...
https://www.timeout.com/london/theatr...

[Yourfiendmrjones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a lot of Morgan’s work “Patriots” is an incredibly well-researched look at the humans behind history. The rise and downfall of a Russian kingmaker and oligarch (and specifically the man behind Putin becoming president of Russia), the play succeeds as a debate over the personal cost of such “patriotic” actions. How does the math work on such a far-reaching calculation? It may be a bit dry for some tastes but I found it consistently engaging, with an extremely relevant subject.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Political yet accessable, this is a great play!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an intense piece! The role of Boris is so meaty and a wonderful prize for any actor. An inspired look at what it means to be a patriot told through the lens of Boris the oligarch and his "political puppet" Vladimir Putin. Filled with Morgan's signature brilliance, this is sadly, a timely piece.

[James Neophytou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Page turning brilliance. I went to see this when it was at the Almeida theatre, a couple of years ago. Terrific read also. The rise of Putin from incorruptible nobody as Deputy Mayor of St Petersburg to second most powerful man in the world. Sponsored, financed, championed by the oligarchs’ oligarch Boris Berezovsky.

Berezovsky was Rasputin in the court of Boris Yeltsin and was kingmaker in the succession plan.

Roman Abramovich and the murdered agent Litvinenko have muscular roles in the play also.

Peter Morgan (The Crown, Frost/Nixon) writes like an angel.

Quite a ride.

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good play, but several grammatical mistakes, both in English and Russian - especially in Russian - spoiled it for me. Hopefully, the audience will be able to tell truth from fiction/assumptions in that B’s death wasn’t proved to be a suicide and may well have been a murder.

[Eric Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I sometimes do, I saw this play recently and decided to read the text later. It was a very good play — and it is a superb text. This is the story of Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky, a man who claimed he “made” Vlaimir Putin — a grey, unimpressive mid-level bureaucrat who later turned on him. Berezovsky’s story is closed linked to those of Roman Abramovich and Alexander Litvinenko, who was murdered by Putin’s spies in London a few years ago. Peter Morgan has sometimes come under fire for a certain lack of accuracy in his historical scripts — particulary with the television series “The Crown”. That does not appear to be the case here. Patriots tells a story that needs to be told, especially now. Highly recommended.

[Helen Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a well written play! I hope to see it on stage one day.

[Gal · Rating 4 out of 5]

From now on, every time I will feel Peter Morgan miss his pointional in The Crown, I will remeber he wrote this.

[Steve Mayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

More potted history from Peter Morgan, this time concerning Russia and the rise of Putin

[Ian McNair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly gripping.

[Anna C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will Keen's Putin is the best Putin!

[Bobby Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda slow in the beginning, but it definitely picked up.

[Juana · Rating 1 out of 5]

nary one scene starts with the beginning of a conversation