BULGARIAN DRAMA – SANCTIONED, NEGLECTED, AND ENDORSED (THE 1910 DEBATE SURROUNDING THE BULGARIAN THEATRE)

Abstract

This text focuses on the published during 1910 articles of three theatre critics – Pencho Slaveykov’s “National Theatre”, Ivan Andreychin’s “Our National Theatre”, and Aleksandar Balabanov’s “Thoughts on our Theatre”. The three articles pose questions and provide answers which summarise the topical during the 20th century debate surrounding Theatre as a national institution. At the core of the matter of a national theatre stands the question of a national dramaturgy. In addition to other important to the development of the Bulgarian theatre issues, the authors also touch upon Bulgarian drama’s lack of prospects. Unlike the Revival-period dispute, which is concerned with the very existence of the theatre among Bulgarians as a whole, the debate of 1910 is provoked out of necessity – a necessity for new creative ideas, approaches, and individuals. Among the main arguments there stands out the one regarding the benefits and risks of presenting Bulgarian drama on the national stage.