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First International Black Sea Theatre Festival will take place in Bulgaria's Varna September 24-28

Photo: visit.varna.bg

The Varna Drama Theatre "Stoyan Bachvarov" is establishing its own international festival forum at the end of September. The first edition of the new festival will be held in the coastal city of Varna  from September 24 to 28, 2025. The slogan "Theatre is excited" seeks parallels between art and the sea. The concept is based on the idea of ​​a creative exchange of strong contemporary messages, recreated with modern means of expression.

Alma Mahler
Seven titles have been selected for the forum. On September 24, the premiere production of the Varna Drama Theatre "Alma Mahler", prepared together with artists from North Macedonia, will be presented. The prominent playwright Sasho Dimoski, author of the dance-theater performance "Superman" by Stravinsky and Nietzsche specially created for Varna actors, now dedicates to the theatergoers of Varna his dramatic text about Alma Mahler - the famous wife of the great composer Gustav Mahler, one of the most charismatic and influential women of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who inspired great artists. The production is by the leading director from North Macedonia Dejan Projkovski, who, after the National Theater and the Drama Theater in Plovdiv, is making his third Bulgarian production on the stage of the Drama Theater "Stoyan Bachvarov".

Gabor Tompa
Guest of the festival will be the world-famous director from Romania Gabor Tompa - president of the Union of Theaters in Europe (UTE), who leads the team of the National Hungarian Theater in Cluj-Napoca in Varna.

The Nikolay Binev Youth Theatre participates with Yana Titova's production of "Lisbon" by Zahari Karabashliev, awarded with the ASKEER 2025 in the "Contemporary Bulgarian Drama" category. 

The Blagoevgrad Drama Theater will perform Gogol's "Marriage" - a production by Rostislav Georgiev, awarded with the ASKEER 2025 Award in the "Rising Star" category. "After the Rain" by the Italian association Ariateatro is an author's performance by Aida Taliente and Chiara Benedetti about the closeness between two sisters, the death of one and the existential emptiness with which the other must live. The same theme, but set in a socio-political context, is also at the center of "Empty City" by Deyan Dukovski - a production by Ahmet Ismail.

Prof. Plamen Markov
Prominent director and theater pedagogue Prof. Plamen Markov has been invited to conduct a workshop on acting and directing for drama theater with young talents. 

Writer and playwright Tea Denolyubova will lead a creative workshop "Writing that comes to life on stage"

The framework of "Theatre is Excited" includes an exhibition dedicated to the legendary Georgi Partsalev, as well as the premiere of the book "Georgi Partsalev. Hamlet from Levski" by Georgi Toshev. 

Other events on the program are a photographic exhibition "Theatrical Poster" by Simeon Lyutakov, a painting and watercolor exhibition "Sea Seasons" by Venelin Milanov, a fire show by Julian Dimitrov, a concert by Militsa Gladnishka and the group "The Fox and the Cats".


Photos: visit.varna.bg, Facebook /Stoyan Bachvarov Drama Theatre, natfiz.bg, alma-mahler.at, International Black Sea Theatre Festival


Edited by Tsvetana Toncheva
English: R. Petkova


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