Hello, listeners of the program Literatures in Europe Today!
My name is Vanya Beneva, I am 22 years old and I am from Bulgaria.
It is a small country in southeastern Europe and it has recently become a member of the European Union.
I really liked the idea of the authors of the show to promote what is happening in Europe so I decided to join. I hope you will expand your ideas about my homeland.
Today I will introduce you to the current theatre season in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. You will know which are the most successful theatrical productions at the moment, which are the most famous theatres, weather young people like watching theatre, also you will hear other details about modern theatre life...
But let's start from the very beginning.
Bulgarian theatre has existed since August 15, 1856 when was the first theatrical performance in Shoumen. It is called “Mihal” written by Sava Dobroplodni.
In the leading role is Vasil Drumev, a writer, a journalist and a public figure who is considered to be the father of the Bulgarian theatre. He is the author of the first Bulgarian drama with an original storyline - “Ivanku, the killer of Assen 1”.
Later, in 1904, the building of the National Ivan Vazov Theatre was built in Sofia. It is still one of the most beautiful sights of the capital.
Now we have more than 20 theatres, each of them offering a different repertoire performed by professional actors.
Among the most popular theatres in Sofia, in addition to the National Theatre “Ivan Vazov”, are:
Bulgarian Army Theatre
Youth Theatre “Nikolai Binev”
Satirical Theatre “Aleko Konstantinov”
Theatre Sofia
Theatre “Revival”
“199” Theatre
Theatrical Workshop 'Sfumato”
Little City Theatre Off the Channel
State Music Theatre
Puppet Theatre of Sofia
The most visited performances this season are: “A flight over the Cuckoo's nest” by Ken Kissi. It is on the stage of The National Theatre.
“Apocalypse comes at 6 am” is a play of Georgi Gospodinov and it is presented in the Little City Theatre Off the Channel.
Many people like as well the performances :
“Dinner for Jerks” by Francis Weber,
'The Chery Orchard” by Anton Chekhov,
“Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran” by Eric Emmanuel-Smith.
My favourite one is “The views of one teacher for the folk art” by Kamen Donev. It is its second season and it still fills the lounges.
Naturally, we cannot enumerate all, and no way, my choice is subjective.
What no one can deny is that the theatre in Bulgaria is constantly developing and enriching. There are more and more new organizations and projects of young artists. A lot of playwriters, set designers, directors, actors and musicians began working altogether and their result is very interesting. All of them are united by the common idea of creating something new to the audience.
There are three universities in Sofia where one can study theatre. The most prestigious among them is the National Academy of Theatre and Cinema which is the biggest one on the Balkans.
Most often Bulgarian actors realize themselves after graduating high school but recently I see it is not obligatory. Especially for the street artists.
You can meet different actors in the street of Sofia. There are jugglers, acrobats, musicians who are making street theatre for the passengers.
The organization of circus 'Cumbo” is very popular this season.
They are street artists who play numerous tricks – riding unicycles, pantomime, slapstick, juggling, contact improvisation and so on.
They entertain old and young people, not only in the street. They have some stage performances like “Gubaliaci, save the Forest”and “Passage of Time”.
2010 was unfavorable for the Bulgarian theatre because of the crisis. The state had no money to help it so a lot of cultural projects could not happen.
We are now in the early 2011 and we strongly hope that it will be more generous to the theatre.
For Bulgaria, not only in Sofia, there is an increasing interest for the theatre. The halls are full, there is no enough seats, no tickets. Some of the performances are played several times so that the audience may be able to enjoy them. It is also important that the tickets are not expensive at all. On average one ticket costs about six Bulgarian levs which is at three Canadian dollars.
Theatre performances in Sofia are interesting and accessible. They are visited by many young people, especially when there is a theatre marathon. Theatre Alma Alter organizes a 24-hours marathon each year. Over 100 people gather to do and watch theatre. People have provided food, they are not allowed to sleep or leave the marathon.
I have personally been to two marathons. I must say that it is a big party, the atmosphere is unique, you can meet many strange but attractive people there. Finally, after watching all the performances, people are divided into different groups and they have to do an own show.
The current theatre season began in September last year and it will finish before the summer.
