Cheek by Jowl is an international theatre company founded in 1981 by theatre director Declan Donnellan and stage designer Nick Ormerod. For several decades, it has enjoyed worldwide popularity and recognition for its insightful contemporary stage interpretations of classical drama. Their theatre, centered on the art of the actor, captivated the attention of thousands of spectators and researchers. The company’s performances have been awarded many times with prestigious international awards such as “Golden Mask” (Russia) and the “Olivier Awards” (UK). Donnellan and Ormerod are recipients of the Order of the British Empire. Declan Donnellan has also received the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Biennale and the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
After successfully presenting “Andromaque” in 2008, the World Theater in Sofia invites the latest production by Cheek by Jowl: “Life is a Dream”, for which they have collaborated for the first time with actors from the Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico in Madrid. Together, they offer their take on Calderón’s astonishing play from the Spanish Golden Age with its underlying themes of free will, fate, and the mystery of life.
A prince chained in a mountain. A young woman disguised as a man in search of vengeance. Revolution, love, murder – but in Life is a Dream, is the real truly real, or is it all just a dream? Donnellan and Ormerod once again create an impressive staging that is already enjoying great success on international stages.
“Shakespeare, Sophocles, Calderón… Classics last because they are always about now: 400 years ago or today. We work on them because they continue to share life through time. They probe our self-deceptions and our glories, our relationships and our systems and help us to discover what it is to be ourselves.”
Declan Donnellan
Talia Award 2023 of the Academy of Performing Arts of Spain for Best Supporting Actress (Goizalde Nuñez) and Best Supporting Actor Nomination (Ernesto Arias)
Premios Max 2023 Theatre Award Nomination for Best Actor (Alfredo Noval)
In Spanish with surtitles in English and Bulgarian.
The presentation of the production is supported by National Culture Fund trough the programme Annual Grant 2022.
