This production of As You Like It, based on Shakespeare’s comedy, marks the Bulgarian debut of internationally acclaimed Romanian director Gábor Tompa. In this staging, love uplifts, art liberates, and nature heals. At the heart of the story is the Forest of Arden, resembling the ruins of an Elizabethan theater—because, much like in the forest and in the theater, anything is possible, and those who enter emerge transformed. The forest becomes a symbol of escape from authoritarian rule and a utopian pursuit of freedom.

Gábor Tompa is one of Romania’s most renowned theater directors with global recognition. For over 30 years, he has served as Director of the Hungarian State Theatre in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and Artistic Director of the Interferences International Theatre Festival. Having directed over 100 productions across Europe and the U.S., he is also the founder of the Theatre Faculty in Cluj-Napoca and has led its Directing Department since 1991. Since 2007, he has also been a professor at the University of California, USA