The popular play “Natural Shocks: A One Woman Play in a Tornado” by American playwright Lauren Gunderson has its Bulgarian première with the solo performance of actress Vesela Babinova directed by Vasil Duev-Tayg. Hamlet’s question “To be or not to be” echoes throughout the play. The story takes us to a small town in the US and introduces us to Angela, a middle-aged woman. While hiding in her basement waiting out an imminent tornado, she streams live in social networks to show what is happening. In the face of mortal danger, Angela uses the last thing she has left – her sense of humour. Despite being an insurance agent, nothing in her life seems to be completely in order. She tries not to lie, yet she constantly does it. How come everything messed up all of a sudden? A tornado can turn your entire life upside down.

The intensive presence of Vesela Babinova turns the performance into a powerful theatrical experience. The actress became widely popular both with her roles in theatre and with her successful roles in cinematography (“Omnipresent”) and television (“Father’s Day”), and “Natural Shocks” is her first attempt in the solo performance genre, where she demonstrates new aspects of her gift.

“I and Vasil Duev-Tayg decided to make things closer to our reality and to refrain from mentioning where the act takes place – it is sufficient to talk about the absurd of a tornado happening in this town. We are no strangers to a great part of the questions the heroine tries to answer and the topics she talks about.” Vesela Babinova