site.bta“Stage Without Borders” to Present Nine Performances from Eight Countries in Sofia

In June, Sofia will host nine theatre productions from eight countries and three film screenings as part of the Stage Without Borders initiative, the organizers said on Tuesday during a press conference. The initiative is organized by the Ivan Vazov National Theatre and the 19th edition of the World Theatre in Sofia platform by the Via Fest Foundation.

Actress Tzvetana Maneva said this year’s edition will serve as a mirror of the Balkan Peninsula. She stressed the importance of mutual understanding, dialogue, empathy, and compassion, not only in the Balkans but globally. “It is our duty to bring light to the essential movement of emotions and thoughts between the stage and the audience,” Maneva added.

Prof. Nikolay Yordanov explained that the selection is part of the project Theatre Bridges in Southeastern Europe, with which the World Theatre in Sofia platform applied for a European programme promoting international productions to Bulgarian audiences. “It is interesting to see where we stand in this Balkan kaleidoscope,” he noted.

Two performances by acclaimed Romanian director Silviu Purcarete will be showcased during the festival. “He is not only a Romanian but a world-renowned director,” said Yordanov. The festival will open on June 4 with his Romanian production The Ploughman and Death, based on a 14th-century poetic text by Johannes von Tepl. In addition, the National Theatre has invited a co-production he directed in collaboration with a Japanese theatre.

Theatre expert Asen Terziev said that a theatrical focus on the Balkans was not initially planned but turned out to be a natural direction for development. When international guests come, they are less interested in the latest big-name productions from the European circuit and more curious about what the local scene has to offer, he noted.

“Each year, we try to feature a major, emblematic figure in contemporary theatre, and this year that is undoubtedly Silviu Purcarete. His performance The Ploughman and Death explores the theme of preparation for death, popular in the Middle Ages but often forgotten today,” Terziev said.

Contemporary global theatre trends will also be represented by the Greek documentary performance 96%, based entirely on documents about the deportation of 96% of the Jewish population of Thessaloniki during World War II. “Audiences will find unexpected parallels with the situation in Bulgaria,” Terziev emphasized.

The programme also includes productions by Bulgarian artists working abroad. Among them are Pillar of Salt, based on a new play by Montenegrin playwright Aleksandar Radunovic, directed by Yavor Gardev at the Royal Theatre Zetski Dom in Cetinje, Montenegro; When We Dead Awaken by Henrik Ibsen, directed by Stiliyan Petrov at the National Theatre in Nova Gorica, Slovenia; and Don Juan by Moliere, directed by Vasil Vasilev at the National Theatre in Nis, Serbia.

Two productions by British director Declan Donnellan, Medea and Oedipus Rex, will be presented back-to-back in one evening at the National Theatre. In Terziev words, the company intends for the double bill to tour internationally as a combined presentation.

The Cinema House will host screenings of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and a stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove. On June 13, the Krastyo Sarafov National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts will present, for the first time in Bulgaria, the documentary Acting, directed by Sophie Fiennes, which explores Donnellan’s working method.

National Theatre Director Vasil Vasilev said: “I am truly happy that together with World Theatre in Sofia we have found a shared path and opened the door to a larger event connected to international theatre, especially in Sofia. This is our fourth year of collaboration, but for the first time, we are uniting under a broader vision. I hope, Stage Without Borders will grow to include even more partners and theatres in Sofia, giving local audiences access to modern European and global culture, and above all, world theatre.”

Mladen Alexiev from the National Theatre’s international department said that since 2022 the theatre has made a conscious effort to include foreign productions in its programme and to expand its international network. In his words, thanks to a new partnership with the Sibiu International Theatre Festival in Romania, Stage Without Borders will present two additional performances: Iona, directed by Silviu Purcarete and based on a text by Romanian classic Marin Sorescu, and Life Is but a Dream by the Korean company iContact. The latter is inspired by the global K-pop trend and reinterprets Korean shamanic traditions through techno music, Alexiev explained.