Ivanka Boyadzhieva

In his very first play, Kamen Zidarov demonstrated the distinctive features of his dramatic talent—vivid characters that convey the atmosphere of the time, exciting conflicts, and national color. But in Tsarska Milost, the fast-paced dramatic line is broken by a certain slowness and narrative style, by a certain disruption of the dramatic unity. What distinguishes the play "For the Honor of the Uniform" from "Royal Mercy" is the more clearly expressed conflict, the constantly intensifying dramatic tension, and at the same time the greater compositional coherence. The entire structure of "For the Honor of the Uniform" is more perfect, which shows that Kamen Zidarov's dramaturgical mastery has strengthened. At the center of the play, the playwright has placed a deep psychological conflict. Using the tools of drama and powerful dramatic situations, Zidarov has attempted to unfold the complex emotional drama of K. Zidarov, For the Honor of the Uniform, a drama published in the magazine Theater, vol. 6/1956. A man in whom the forces of love struggle with the forces of duty and honor. A great achievement for the author is the fact that he brings to the forefront in the play the psychological contradictions, the personal drama of the man. The clash between love and duty, the conflict between the dream of personal happiness and social obligations, is an old theme in drama. Kamen Zidarov has resolved this eternal problem in a new, original way, in a communist way.

The conversations with Kamen Zidarov about the creative process spanned five meetings, the first on March 20, 1960, and the last on April 9, 2015, at his home on 35 Vasil Kolari Street. An alert, creative person, very cheerful, infectious with sparkling wit, revealed his inner wealth to me. Kamen Zidarov talks about everything with amazing ease. The flow of speech is colorful, dotted with wit. He can talk almost without pauses for an entire hour. During the conversations, there is no external tension or effort. Only at the end of the conversation do the slightly stiff movements of his hands betray his fatigue. He achieves a natural liveliness, without completely disappearing. In such moments of fatigue, Zidarov becomes extremely funny. He can entertain guests, jump from topic to topic, tell anecdotes, laugh contagiously, and participate in all kinds of conversations, except perhaps about the creative process... And this is It seems to be one of his forms of rest. Zidarov's great discipline and love of order were evident at all stages of the survey. From the very beginning, he stated that the work would take us four or at most five meetings. The nature of the matter that would occupy us is peculiarly lengthy, and I naturally doubted that the allotted time would be sufficient. But I very soon realized how unfounded Kamen's concerns were. Zidarov grasps the questions immediately and with great conscientiousness erases them. He struggles to remember all the interesting details that relate to the production of his dramas, but he never gets bogged down in unnecessary things, does not deviate in the wrong direction. His memory is amazingly clear and accurate. The playwright quickly and very concisely clarifies the essence of the problem, dwells on the most important and interesting, and then imperceptibly, without prefaces, moves on to a new group of questions. Especially at those places in the conversation, when the story came to life under the imitative tall of Zidarov.

It is unlikely that a significant artistic problem could be exhausted only by the development of the main conflict. In a dramatic work, as in life, a major event gives rise to a multitude of different incidents and conflicts, each of which, to one degree or another, depends on the central event. And indeed, the development of the action is significantly enriched if various additional conflicts are included in the central drama. But when some of the auxiliary dramas with their sub-themes overshadow, even for a short time, the main theme, then disharmony sets in in the play, because the principle of unity of action is violated. In the plays of the classics, each character, even a minor one, has his own drama, which is at the same time firmly connected with the main theme. The different moments of the development of the action, the many plot threads and the diverse dramatic characters in a true dramatic work are united by the single theme that the playwright wants to defend. According to Belinsky, unity of action should not be understood as a technological process at all, it means unity of ideological content: "Simplicity, uncomplicatedness and unity of action, in the sense of unity of ideological content, should be one of the main conditions of drama: in it everything should be directed towards one goal, towards one direction... The unification of all plot threads, clashes and vicissitudes by one main idea gives harmony and clarity to the composition - regardless of whether it is open or closed, whether it consists of many scenes and actions or only a few acts. And that is why often an insufficiently clarified dramatic theme is the cause of many compositional imperfections. Unity of ideological content leads to a harmonious and harmonious composition, where each individual part, in the lemina.

In his original contemporary play "When the Roses Dance", Valery Petrov takes up with gentle sincerity, with subtle soft humor, with ease and grace the eternally young problem of love. The spirit of youth, this cheerful spirit, born in May, reincarnated in the image of the Young Man, wants to awaken the youth in the Old Man. Will he succeed? The dispute begins as a joke. The Young Man proves the existence of true love. With magic, with songs, music, ballet and with the destinies of several couples in love. The roses, these precious flowers that the Old Man guards day and night and cannot protect, suddenly come to life before his eyes. They not only teach and sting, but can dance, yearn, suffer and... run away. Roses are intended for lovers. Having begun with roses, the love theme imperceptibly expands and grows into a theme for young and old perceptions in contemporary life. It turns out that in Every person has both an old man and a young man who are in constant struggle. What does it mean to be young? The answer to this question constitutes the second plan of the theme of love, the undercurrent of the action in "When the Roses Dance" - because not only in love, but in thousands of places, our damned old age fights with youth. . . The Young Man is tireless in his passionate urge to protect youth. This is an image that is constantly transforming. He instantly takes off his symbolic clothes, acquires flesh and blood. With his soft intimacy and sparkling witty lines, he is an unusually lively and vital positive hero, as well as fantastically ethereal, elusive, alluringly diverse, surprising. He is the backbone of the play, the defender of the main theme, the conductor of the "spring pantomime", in which, along with jokes and magic, the sad and cheerful melodies of love and wisdom sound. And the Old Man? Maybe this is just a contrasting symbolic image, constantly opposing the views of the Young Man and in the end will be rejected by life, ridiculed? Yes, indeed, at first he shows a petty stingy passion, distrust of people. But the most interesting thing about this character is his transformation and especially his unusual experiences on the way to the police station, where he leads the Young Man, who has plucked three roses for his beloved.

No, this is not about so this is moved after the conclusion of "freedom" clever proof, 100 years, i.e. it will become in and contradictions" in parallel which two and two is 2029?! (Italics mine, the production by Boyan Daravno on five. Here the numbers played an unpleasant joke on the professor from VITIZ Stefan Karakostov. Rather, he unintentionally made the joke himself, deciding to use a randomly mentioned number as the main evidence in assessing the artistic qualities of the production "Darvenitsa" by Boyan Danovski at the state santirika theater. We are talking about the article "High distinction for the tops in our theater", printed in issue 107 of the newspaper "Trud". In it, filled with a passion for discovery, Karakostov writes: "The greatest weakness of the production is Myakovski's free reworking. It turns out that Danovski's great sin was that he transferred the action, which develops in communist society, not after 50, but after 100 years. This directorial freedom is precisely what horrifies Karakostov: The Great T post expected that in 50 years the communist society would win, something that was outlined in the plans of the CPSU, i.e. by 1979. In a production

Here the curtain is lifted and the reality, which is supposedly so familiar to us, is revealed in some unseen, unsuspected light. The reason, of course, is at least in the modern, unfamiliar, often a little bizarre artistic means, although they are sometimes necessary. The reason is in the unusually fresh, wise, communist contemporary view of the author, in his new discovery of the world. The bearer of "innovative power" in the play, of that dreamed thing that the viewer seems to want to take with him after the performance, is the dramatic image. Through it, the playwright achieves his ultimate goal: to influence the viewer. Without a dramatic image, the most fulfilling idea, the most complexly conceived conflict, and the most original dramatic composition hang in the air. Only the dramatic image-discovery can give them flesh and blood, revive the author's innermost thoughts, excite the viewer with his fate, make him think, believe in the improbable.

Condemned souls have always been Dimitar Dimov's element. Even in "Tyu Tyu" they are depicted with more mastery, more precisely and in detail than the heroes, but the bearers of the new morality. In the plays "Women with a Past" and "The Guilty" the images of people from the old world are also more successful and convincing. And in "Holiday in Arco Iris" the author takes on something new, which has not been posed as a central problem in his work so far. The main dramatic theme in Dimov's new play is exactly the opposite, contrasting to that of "Condemned Souls". Again the same reality: the events of the civil war in Spain, communists, anarchists, Francoists, Catholics; a woman - haughty and beautiful, born to experience a terrible love, which must open her eyes to the world; bullets, death, etc. In "Condemned Souls" Dimov has revealed a specific side of his fiction talent: to penetrate comprehensively and fully and at the same time with great effect into the spiritual depths of characters whose social and personal fate is devoid of prospects. He sees prospects only outside them - in social reality. Now, in the play "Rest in Arco Iris" the author will fight to save every more or less doomed soul. The events in Spain come to his aid. Centuries-old relationships are being destroyed. Soul layers are being shifted. A radical change is being introduced into people's lives and understandings. The plot material is truly rich and beneficial for creating a drama with a significant social plot, bright dramatic characters and modern lighting.

A beautiful and proud woman has raised a sword in front of her. There is much grandeur, tragedy and beauty in her flight forward and upward. This is the new monument to the fallen heroes for freedom, which is located in front of the National Theatre in Warsaw. A diverse movement is captured in the sculpture. I don't know why, in addition to the fate of the Polish nation, it also evokes associations with the Polish theatre. With its history and its current youth. I involuntarily recall Mickiewicz's "All Souls' Day", Słowacki's "Cordian" and "Balladina". I look at my watch - I have to hurry - I must not miss the beginning of "Death of a Lieutenant" by Mrożek. I expect it to be something extremely funny and sad. (And I did not fly away...). I take a last look at the Theatre Square. From afar, the humiliations or perhaps the forced stops and the whirlwind flights that this strange woman with the sword hides within herself are somehow more palpable. But you feel - no matter what happens - she is indestructible, she will raise her clear forehead. I calmly enter the theater hall and immediately become her prisoner. Time flies imperceptibly, the performance lasts about two hours. It is only 9 o'clock in the evening and it is not even dark enough outside. There is time to walk, talk and argue with Poles about their theater performances, about famous playwrights, about interesting stage characters.

For the second time I was going to Bagryana's house. On the way, I struggled in vain to recall anything from the order in her reception room and office. Was there nothing distinctive and alluring in what surrounded the poetess, and nothing in particular attracted my feminine gaze? It seemed that the conversation about Bagryana's celebration in Rome had completely absorbed us. Everything else had disappeared on that rainy autumn afternoon. Only she remained, in whose eyes the delight of the "eternal city" was constantly lurking and flashing. And ah, yes... Like a gentle veil, light sycamore curtains had been drawn over all the windows. They covered the objects, created intimacy, and eliminated any curiosity that would otherwise be natural. And now... Now it's spring, I'll wait for the lights to come on so I can see everything. e Bagryana welcomes me warmly. She drives away the fatigue from the long work on her proofs, who knows where. She imperceptibly quickly prepares tea: "Let's wake up a little." Both the tea and the tulle curtains disarm me. But I feel an insatiable thirst to talk, to marvel at the naturalness, simplicity and beauty. The enchantress of Bulgarian verse was sitting next to me in a blouse with purple tones and smiling at me. I could look and ask whatever I wanted!

Bagryana's poems first appeared on the pages of the magazine "Contemporary Thought" in 1915. The fires of war silenced her for several years, only to reappear in "Vestnik na zhenata" in 1921, thirsty for true life, with a longing for the sacred and an unwavering attachment to the Bulgarian land.

For a quarter of a century of socialist poetry, many women poets have shown their talent, and many of them deserve attention and special consideration. The profound changes after September 9th have liberated and fully unlocked the possibilities of women in the field of poetry. The author of "The Eternal and the Holy" has created new inspired cycles and poems, in which the new time brings life-giving currents, freshness and depth. Bagryana continues to conquer and amaze us with the strongest poetic confessions. But her voice has become warm and maternally predisposing in a new way. She does not avoid either sad or joyful encounters, does not keep her heart, gives away its warmth and thus preserves her eternal youth.