For his first production on the Bulgarian stage, world-renowned British director Declan Donnellan chooses Euripides’ ancient tragedy Medea. With masterful minimalism and compelling performances, this chilling tale of a cast-off wife’s revenge is brought uncomfortably close to the audience. The spectators stand on stage alongside the actors, becoming part of a collective chorus of the Corinth citizens who Medea addresses. Here, she is a very real woman facing what to her seems an intolerable predicament. We think what she does is overly emotional and irrational, but in fact the appalling deed is the result of the application of strict logic.  Logic that can be a good servant but a bad master.

Declan Donnellan and his longtime creative partner Nick Ormerod are among the most influential figures in European theatre of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In 1981, they founded the Cheek by Jowl company in London, whose landmark productions have toured in over 50 countries, shaping acting techniques, theatrical language, and audience perceptions worldwide. Their work has received numerous accolades, including the Laurence Olivier Award, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement (Venice, 2016), and the Stanislavski International Prize (2018) for Donnellan’s outstanding contribution to global theatre. As artistic directors, they have also been awarded the Order of the British Empire.

Icarus 2025 National Theatre Award Nomination for Best Leading Actress (Radina Kardzhilova)

There are no seats for this performance. The audience will stand on stage, immersed in the play as the actors perform among them.

The performance is presented as part of a double-bill evening dedicated to ancient tragedy, together with “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles directed again by Declan Donnellan, a production of  Marin Sorescu National Theatre – Craiova, Romania, as a joint initiative with Ivan Vazov National Theatre.