Stefan Stambolov – one of the brightest and perhaps the most controversial personalities in modern Bulgarian history – comes to life in the semi-darkness of the Slavi Shkarov Chamber Hall stage. For an hour and a quarter, he repeatedly falls into a rage, then is seized with panic fear and is ready to throw himself into the abyss of remorse. But he is also ready to kill – not just anyone (for a long time in history textbooks he was “bloodthirsty Stambolov”), but his best friend, with whom they both dreamed of seeing the homeland free and democratic. Both of them wrote poems – they published a small collection of poems together, and many of those troubled times believed that Stambolov was the more talented poet.
The play is “The Spirit of the Poet” by Stefan Tsanev. Its national premiere was in April 2013 at the National Theater. Now the Ruse director Ivaylo Nenov opens Tsanev’s text for his own reading – and turns it into an impressive theatrical project. Scenographic minimalism (the action takes place in Stambolov’s home, where the walls at times create the allusion of marble, but also look like the stone walls of a prison cell) does not distract the attention of the audience, who from the first minute of the performance are involved in the dramatic adventure of the three characters: Stefan Stambolov (Kadri Habil), the chronicler of the liberation struggles Zahari Stoyanov (Milen Dimitrov) and Stambolov’s faithful orderly Guncho (the young Ruse actor Borislav Apostolov).
Stefan Tsanev recreates a nightmarish dream of Prime Minister Stambolov
born of the rumors that Botev did not die in the Vrachan Balkan, but is alive, he was exiled in Diyarbekir, but he returned from there and comes to ask his former comrade what he did with the ideals and aspirations of the Khushov times. When the ordinary Guncho informs his patron that the man “from the reader” has knocked on his door, this unleashes in Stambolov the fears, regrets and internal disputes with himself that he suppressed while intoxicated by power. And she, the power, according to him, belongs to him – what’s more, he finds justification for having become one of the richest Bulgarians, owning hundreds of acres of land and properties, convincing himself that “we, the rich, we possess so much of this country, and for that reason we love and care for it more than others” (quote to the point). After all, a 24-year-old young man more or less at the same time as the action of the play unfolds, writes his ingenious “Tale of the Ladder” about the amnesia of people at the top of power. But Stambolov is still not one hundred percent “ladder prince”. He still hasn’t forgotten where he started from and what their dreams were with Botev. And if he wakes up from such nightmares, it means that he still has a conscience, I would like today’s politicians to wake up from such nightmares, says director Ivaylo Nenov.
It is to his credit that he made this performance impressively effective – and if at the very beginning there were here and there muffled whispers of derision: “Ah, Guncho!”, the audience was very soon speechless. And not only because, through the questions of Zahari Stoyanov, the author asks the same questions about the rulers even today!
Kadri Habil made the role of Stambolov a living and completely real person
– with the cynical arrogance, with the snide insinuations, with the unforgiveness, with the unbridled anger, with the unconditional orders, with the cold-blooded accusations, with the humiliating proposals to give posts and wealth to Botiova as well. For little more than an hour he rose as a statesman and dictator, only to collapse in doubt and fear of being undone. Both his rage and his fears were real – Kadri Habil showed that he mastered the entire huge palette of bubbling thoughts, moods and worries that created the contradictory image of Stambolov. The actor from Ruse plays an incredibly strong role – I admit that now it’s hard to imagine another actor in this image. And I’m not surprised that there were quite a few critical reviews of the performance at the National Theater, in which “an unconvincing Stambolov” was delicately mentioned. I still think that if these critics saw the Ruse production as well, the tone of their remarks would be different. Moreover, it is precisely the volcanic role of Habil that makes the stage presence of Milen Dimitrov’s character convincing and thus to a large extent equal – his diplomatic Zahari is a kind of counterpoint to the sharp and intolerant Stambolov. But both are equally worried about “the one from the reader” – and there is a reason. The ordinary of Borislav Apostolov fits organically into this dramatic dialogue, this pure, uncorrupted and devoted soul who is faced with an ominous dilemma: to whom should he remain faithful – to his excellency or to God and not to kill the “man from the reading room”.
“The Spirit of the Poet” emerges as a strong finale of this season, loaded with many different projects and events for Ivaylo Nenov. “For myself, this play was a challenge – and also for the three actors, especially for Qadri, who had hesitations. But he trusted me, read the play, and his doubts disappeared. Then he also read “Bulgarian Chronicles” by Stefan Tsanev,” says the director.
And he explains his own choice as follows: “First, because I like the play. Unfortunately, it is relevant today. Then – because the author is related to our city, he graduated from “Baba Tonka” high school, which I also graduated from. The characters, especially Zahari Stoyanov, are also connected to Ruse. And – perhaps most importantly, because we have actors who can do these roles.
Kadri opens up the image of the man rather than the statesman
who really did so much for young Bulgaria. But this is exactly the drama of the person who is predisposed to become a dictator, but in whom the senses are not completely stunted, and therefore he has nightmares. In the end, he falls victim to acts just as bloody as his own. And I allude to this with the severed hands that appear literally for fractions of a minute – this is already his nightmare come true,” says Nenov.
This season, he also made another entry into Liberation-related history. Together with the actors Mariana Krumova, Ivana Keranova, Lyubomir Kanev, Krum Berkov, Ivaylo Spasimirov, Borislav Apostolov and Rostislav Pankov, he prepared a performance based on poems from “Epic of the Forgotten” by Ivan Vazov.
“I wanted to show how we, some young people, quite far from that era, read these terrible verses, to show how we understand them today, what they mean for us and for our memory. The project was mainly aimed at even younger people, high school students. We prepared very seriously – we entered the museums, read, discussed, we had to translate for ourselves both the glorious and the shameful moments of history. And then let’s pass this era of pride and shame on to the students as well. We played dozens of times at different schools. The effect was amazing. High school students understood the meaning and power of these verses. We felt it by that
they are silent for a whole 55 minutes, nobody smears the displays of the phones
And finally, we could also see traces of mascara on the girls’ faces. So they were touched by what we wanted to tell them,” says Ivaylo Nenov.
In this season, he realized his private project – “Sunday morning”, which is an artistic continuation of “Friday evening”. It is a purely private, commercial product, in which there is not much depth, explains the director. The audience likes it, they have fun, the beatboxer Alexander Deyanov-Skiller voices everything live, and the text is by Vanya Georgieva, Ivaylo’s wife. She herself is a creative person with her own artistic performances, but she also researches and analyzes the cultural processes in Ruse.
Both Ivaylo and Vanya do not remain indifferent to the problems of Bulgarian culture in the country.
“We raised the protest for culture in Sofia – we were all Ruseians at the core: Momchil Milanov from the Ruse Opera, Mitko Pishev from the Puppet Theater, the capital’s actors Vladislav Violinov and Veselin Anchev, also born in Ruse. It was the first and such a large protest for culture – over 1,500 people, in the winter, it was raining… We achieved a nearly 50 percent increase in the performing arts budget. But mostly we wanted legal changes, we had developments on the way of financing. But Minister Krastyo Krastev did nothing,” says Ivaylo.
His play “Five Times in One Night” – five stories through the ages related to love – has been performed in the Satirical Theater for the fifth year. And at the beginning of this year it was there again
premiere of welcome aboard
of the French playwright Jean-Pierre Martinez. “He calls his play a metaphysical sitcom, and we made it a play about the human spirit and dreams, which are the only ones that can keep us alive,” says the Ruse native. The action takes place in a home for centenarians who are resignedly waiting for their end. There comes a woman who decides to stir up the spirits, let people live, she tells them that she has won a trip to Antarctica, but she can take one more person from home with her. And there is such excitement – everyone wants to go see Antarctica…”, laughs Ivaylo Nenov.
I ask him if he will soon look at “King Lear” as well. This is the first theater performance his father took him to as a little boy. Then in “King Lear” Ivaylo made his debut as an actor. Does he now not want to read the famous British king as a director?
With the greatest pleasure – when the time comes, he answers. And he explains: “For such a production, you need very precise people, a lot of knowledge and ability, very serious financing. “King Lear” is a high ball. But
in Bulgaria, there is much more “Vuycho…” than “…Vanyo” lately
For me, the bigger problem is the scissor between performances for the elite and for the mass audience. And I’m worried that in the second type of performances, the criteria are lowered, things get messed up and that’s how sloppiness is born. And you can make a fun show, a comedy, with respect for the viewer, with heart and with taste”.
“The Spirit of the Poet” has been selected for participation in the Drumevi Theater Festival on May 16. They also have an invitation to Balchik – Stefan Tsanev, who was unable to come to the Ruse premiere, but sent a message to the team, will also be able to see it there. After all, he already knows how the Ruse public perceives him, his friend and colleague in the pen, Rudenko Yordanov, told him about it, who was also impressed by the production and especially strongly by Kadri Habil.
And after the end of the season?
Work again, says Ivaylo Nenov. A few days ago, he refused to stage his project in one of the capital’s theaters, as he does not accept an intervention that replaces his concept. There is enough work, as long as one has ideas and desire, the director is convinced. The topic “Rousse” is very important to him, for him it is a cause: “These days I watched a video from 1988, the streets and squares are full of people, the city is literally teeming. And now? I believe that Rousse has much greater potential and everyone should do what they can in the best way, we should have a common goal, a common vision for the city – and follow it. The 3 Kilo Culture show is one of the things we think is helping to move things along. I look positively and think that it is good that Ruse is a city-museum, only that the museum is constantly full of people”.
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