“The picture of Dorian Gray” by the Director Veselka Kuncheva with a Premiere at the Gabrovo Drama Theater.

On February 1 and 2, the premiere of the show “The Portrait of Dorian Gray” will take place – the latest title of the Gabrovo drama theater “Racho Stoyanov” based on the novel of the same name by Oscar Wilde. A spectacular, large-scale and fascinating performance is promised by the creative team: Director – Veselka Kuncheva, artist – Marieta Golomehova, composer – Milen Apostolov; Choreographer – Yavor Kunchev. Sound designer – Georgi Atanasov. The dramatization is the work of Polina Hristova and Veselka Kuncheva. Photos: Alexander Bogdan Thompson, poster: Vladislav Andonov;

After accepting the invitation to work in the theater in Gabrovo, Veselka Kuncheva and her team held a creative workshop inspired by Oscar Wilde’s novel on the theme “To lose yourself” in July 2023. To date, the results of the forum are the basis of a never-before-seen spectacle on the Gabrovo stage, in which the spectators will immerse themselves on February 1 and 2.

On stage we will see almost the entire cast of the Gabrovo theater, along with two guest actors – Blagovest Mitsev (in the role of Dorian Gray) and Tsveti Peniashki (in the role of Sir Henry Wotton). Dimo Dimov plays the role of the portrait artist – Basil Hallward. Also participating: Melin Erdinch, Tanya Yorgova, Nadezhda Petkova, Atanas Dimitrov – Fozi, Alexander Andreev, Violina Dotseva, Adriana Dimova, Dilyan Nikolov, Dobrinka Toseva, Magdalena Slavcheva, Polya Yordanova.

The scandalous novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” first reached the reading public in 1890 when it began publication in the American literary magazine “Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine”. Although it fell victim to ruthless censorship before it was printed in the pages of the magazine , the work managed to cause a stir in literary circles, until then still stiffened by conservative Victorian values.

However, reviews of the novel are not only negative. Art theorist Walter Peyter, for example, describes it as “truly alive”. Wilde himself mentions: “I only know that ‘Dorian Gray’ is a classic…” It still is to this day – a century and a half later, the story of the handsome young man who sells his soul to stay forever young is one of the most widely read and highly regarded works of classical literature, impressing and shaking everyone who touches it.

Today, the creative team of the premiere performance in Gabrovo focuses on the theme of losing one’s personality in the desire to experience and experience as much as possible of what life has to offer. A thematic emphasis that finds expression in the scenographic decision of Marieta Golomehova is the disintegration due to the loss of foundations. Beauty is ruined and loses its form when temptation takes over – this we will see on the stage as a garden of paradise that undergoes gradual ruin.

The director of the show, Veselka Kuncheva, is well known to the Bulgarian theater audience. Winner of countless nominations and awards of creative guilds in our country, as well as numerous awards from festivals abroad. Veselka Kuncheva is an author and director with a remarkable biography. Some of her last performances are the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the State Opera – Plovdiv, the play “Don Quixote” by Cervantes at the Youth Theater “Nikolay Binev”, “The Last Man” by Orwell at the State Puppet Theater – Stara Zagora. Her play “I, Sisyphus” alone has participated in over 40 international theater festivals in over 20 countries around the world and received over 15 awards.

In the performance “Portrait of Dorian Gray”, Veselka Kuncheva again works in tandem with the artist and set designer Marieta Golomehova, with whom they created the company “Puppet’s Lab”. Marietta is also the winner of numerous awards for her work – among the latest nominations and awards of the guilds in our country, the “Askeer” for scenography and costumes of the play “Don Quixote”, awards for the plays “Flight of the Mole”, “I, Sisyphus” stand out. and others.

The creative team is completed by composer Milen Apostolov, who has been making music since he was four years old. “Forbes” magazine defines him as one of the thirty young influential Bulgarians in the field of arts under the age of 30. At this point, he is also the recipient of a number of nominations and awards for the music he creates for theater productions.

The choreography in the “Portrait of Dorian Gray” show is handled by Yavor Kunchev. For years he has been working in a team with the director Veselka Kuncheva and in 2012 he won the IKAR award for his choreography for the rock musical “On the edge of the sky” at the State Puppet Theater – Plovdiv. More than 10 years working at his Lindy school Hop Bulgaria promotes dance and swing culture in our country.

The team also includes Polina Hristova, who, in co-authorship with Veselka Kuncheva, creates the dramaturgical text for the performance. Her one-man play “The Flight of the Mole”, for which she is also the author of the text, was excellent and warmly received by theatergoers and the public. The performance also took part in the International Monodrama Festival “SoloAct” 2022 in Gabrovo.

The premiere performances on February 1 and 2 are now on sale at the theater’s box office and online at the theater’s website dramagabrovo.com. On February 27, the performance will be played again in Gabrovo and immediately goes on tour. Already in February, he will be a guest in Lovech, and in the following months performances are planned in Burgas, Varna, National Theater “Ivan Vazov” – Sofia, Ruse, Stara Zagora and other cities in the country.