The play “The weapons and the man“ has an important message – how two warring countries end up lovingeach other. This is the most important issue for society, commented Vasil Vassilev, director of the National Theater “Ivan Vazov”, in the BNT program “The Day Begins with Georgi Lyubenov”, quoted by novini.bg.
„Let's stop talking and blaming each other, there is no need for that anymore, we have become masks”, he declared.
About the situation on Thursday, Vassilev said that the theater was “occupied“ and “we worked in a military environment“.
If there are charges against me, they are that I came out and defended my institution. After the performance, we were ready to stand in front of the audience and debate – is the play anti-Bulgarian, can anyone be offended, can we look for humanity and understanding in it, can we come together. I would never make fun of Bulgarian history, Vassilev pointed out.
„The best thing that happened was that we made this performance accessible to everyone. We are currently talking about a show that defended democracy and is a symbol of democracy. A free citizen should be the highest title and it should define our holidays”, the director of the National Theater also explained.
On Thursday, protesters gathered in front of the National Theater building, demanding that the play “The Guns and the Man” be removed from the playbill. Directed by John Malkovich. The performance began shortly after 8:00 p.m. and was played mainly in front of members of the media. Before the start of the premiere, the security of the theater tried to organize a cordon for the spectators who had tickets, but the protesters did not allow them to enter. The next day there were two protests in front of the theater - people who are against the play and others who are dissatisfied with the tension that has arisen against the play.
The second premiere night passed with a full house and without incident. Yesterday the performance started in a calm atmosphere.