Premiere of “The Maids” by Jean Jeunet at the Yalta Art Room

The dramatic and most famous play of the French writer Jean Jeunet – “The Maids” will premiere on November 9 at 7:30 pm on the stage of the Yalta Art Room. The director Kristina Belomorska decided on the main roles of the actresses Adelina Zhelyazkova, Eli Kiril Koleva and Zhana Rasheva.

The scenographer and costume designer of the performance is Nikol Trendafilova (ASKEER 2023 nomination for the costumes in “Leons and Lena”), the composer is David Kokonchev (ASKEER 2023 nomination). The translation of “Servants” is by Valentin Marinov-Pelo.

Kristina Belomorska (Photo: Personal archive)

A large part of the team is familiar from the one-man show “Morphine” (Yalta Art Room), with which they were nominated for ASKEER 2022, and Kristina Belomorska won IKAR 2023 in the “Debut” category for its direction.

A censored, then world-renowned French author (Jacques Jeunet) and his most famous play, which provokes us to think about who we are. It presents us with the eternal existential rather than social questions about human nature.

Adelina Zhelyazkova (Photo: Georgi Sirkatov)

Jeunet’s dramaturgy is seen as part of the theater of the absurd. The action in “The Maids” shows the play of two maids who, in the absence of their mistress, enact their fantasy of servility and disgust with her. At the same time, they feel affection and feelings of love and strong hatred at the same time, and how far this leads, viewers will understand for themselves.

Here’s what the team has to say about the show:

“The performance explores longing and the drive towards self-destruction, brutal loneliness and eroticism, domination over the spirit, subjugation and deformation of the personality, leading to its degenerative disintegration and its compensatory replacement with another.

Tracing the characters’ destructive attempts to validate themselves as actual human beings, the show explores the question of whether it is possible for a person to retain their humanity, reason and spirit, and how far they can go in trying to fill the insufficiency they live with. The “maids” push us to the bottom of human misery, where man and his reality are caught in a delusional labyrinth, in which “game” and life are so intertwined that it is impossible to distinguish them from each other. Madness is the last resort, logic is the servant of feelings, and heaven is no more.”

On April 17, 1947, the Paris Theater “Athene” presented “The Maids” for the first time under the direction of Louis Jouvet. On the Sofia stage, Jeunet’s play was shown several times. Before the staging of the young Kristina Belomorska, more recently the audience watched the adaptation by Diana Dobreva at the National Theater from 2016 and by Desislava Shpatova (“Legal Art Center”, Satirical Theater) from 2002. In 1998 Zhana Rasheva plays the role of Solange in Yavor Gurdev’s production (“The Maids”), and in 2023 she will play the role of Madame on the Yalta Art Room stage.

THE MAIDS by Jean Jeunet

Director: Kristina Belomorska
Participants: Adelina Zhelyazkova, Eli Kiril Koleva and Zhana Rasheva

Translation: Valentin Marinov – Pello
Scenography and costumes: Nikol Trendafilova

Nikol Trendafilova (Photo: Personal archive)

Composer: David Kokonchev
Video: Ventsislav Todorov

David Kokonchev (Photo: Personal archive)

The project is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Theater Department. It is also carried out with the special support of Hei Lin.

Adelina Zhelyazkova graduated from NATFIZ “Krastyo Sarafov”, specialty “Acting Mastery for Drama Theater” in the class of Prof. Margarita Mladenova in 2018. She participated in the graduation performances “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “About Love and Other Demons” (directed by M. Mladenova), as well as in the dance performances “Nine” directed by Anna Kabakova and “Hang in there” directed by Tsveta Doycheva. It can currently be seen in Diana Dobreva’s play “Odyssey” in DT – Plovdiv. The performance “The Maids” is the debut of the actress on the professional stage in an independent theater performance.

Eli Kiril Koleva graduated from NATFIZ “Krastyo Sarafov”, specialty “Acting Mastery for Drama Theater” in the class of Prof. Margarita Mladenova in 2018. She played the roles of Ursula Iguaran, Remedios-the beautiful and Placida Linero in the graduation production “For Love and Other Demons”, directed by Margarita Mladenova and Elena in the graduation performance “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” directed by Albena Georgieva and Prof. Margarita Mladenova. She participated in the performances “Pericles” (dir. Deyan Angelov), “Minimum Effort for Paradise Garden” (dir. Stiliyan Petrov), “Ivanov” and “Three Sisters” (dir. Deyan Angelov), “Invisible Cities” by Italo Calvino (dir. Boyan Kracholov). At the moment, she can be seen on the stage of the theater in Kardzhali in the production “Mammoth” directed by Zhivko Gushterov. The performance “The Maids” is the debut of the actress on the professional stage in an independent theater performance.

Eli Kiril Koleva (Photo: Georgi Sirkatov)

Zhana Rasheva graduated from NATFIZ “Krastyo Sarafov” with a major in “Acting Mastery for Drama Theater” in the class of Prof. Ivan Dobchev and Prof. Margarita Mladenova. He continued his studies at the Academy in 1994. he graduated with a degree in “Film Acting Mastery” in the class of Prof. Georgi Dyulgerov and Associate Professor Svetoslav Ovcharov. Plays in performances on the stages of Sliven, Vratsa, Dimitrovgrad, Theatrical Workshop “Sfumato”, National Theater “Ivan Vazov”, Theater “Vazrazhdane”, Theater 199, “Satirical Theatre”. Shooting in cinema and television.

Zhana Rasheva (Photo: Personal archive)

He received a number of awards, including several international awards. Currently, Zhana Rasheva can be seen in the performances “The Angry 12”, “Labyrinth”, “Night of the Iguana”, “Alice in Wonderland”, “The Adventures of Lukcho”, “Three Sisters”, “Crazy Grass”, “Guest Room”, “Chess” and “Mist”.

Christina Belomorska graduated from NATFIZ “Krastyo Sarafov”, specialty “Drama Theater Directing” in the class of Prof. Ivan Dobchev and master’s degree “History and Modernity of Philosophy” at SU “St. Kliment Ohridski”. Among her directorial works are “Destined for Demolition”, “Mozart and Salieri”, “Sexual Perversions”, the cinema-theatre installation and the radio play “Archive: My Name Was”; “The Mousetrap” in “Hamlet” at the Pleven Theater, “Morphine” in YALTA ART ROOM, in collaboration with international artists “HomeLessLand” (France; Munnet) For the one-man play “Morphine” he received the IKAR 2023 award in the “Debut” category. She is the presenter of the art and culture radio show “Waiting Artists” on Darik Radio. “The Maids” is her second work on the professional stage.