Bacon in Moscow

How Francis Bacon became the first major Western artist to have a solo exhibition in the Soviet Union. Written by Stephen Wakelam, based on the memoir by James Birch.

In 1986, Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and his advisers had adopted glasnost (openness) as a political slogan, together with the terms perestroika (restructuring or regrouping) and demokratizatsiya (democratisation). Glasnost reflected a commitment of the Gorbachev administration to allowing Soviet citizens to discuss publicly the problems of their system and to explore potential solutions.

On the 22nd September 1988 a retrospective of paintings from all periods of Francis Bacon’s work opened at the Central House of Artists in Moscow. The exhibition was the result of a complex and convoluted negotiation by London gallerist James Birch. In his early 30s, Birch had known Bacon since childhood. The highs and lows of his struggles; with Soviet officialdom and the 79 year old artist, form the basis of this play.

Francis Bacon …Timothy Spall
James Birch … Luke Norris
Sergei Klokov … Simonas Mozura
Elena Khudiakova/ Valerie Beston/ TV Interviewer … Amrita Acharia
Johnny Stuart/ John Edwards … John Hopkins
Bob Chenciner/ British Council/ Taxi Driver … Al Barclay
Russian Official/ Guard/ Vasili … Michael Tcherepashenets

Sound design by Markus Andreas and Alisdair McGregor
Directed and produced by Jeremy Mortimer
Production coordinator Annie Keates Thorpe
Executive Producer Joby Waldman

Listen here.