„Was nicht nützlich ist, ist schädlich“ - Theater und städtische Unterhaltungskultur im Bulgarischen Europäisierungsdiskurs
"What is not Useful is Harmful" - Theatre and Urban Popular Culture in the Bulgarian Discourse on Europeanization

Summary/Abstract: After the foundation of the Bulgarian nation-state in 1878, the fast growing popular culture with its great variety of forms became an integral part of the new urban culture. An important part of this culture were theatres and their performances, their repertoires being based on the classical and contemporary repertoires of the European theatre. Under the slogan “What is not useful, is harmful”, parts of the educated Bulgarian elite took a critical stance toward the theatre and Europe, thereby participating in a discourse on the cultural orientation of the country and its search for a national identity. From this perspective the theatre was viewed as a moral institution, a cultural factor of great political significance in the same way as it had been in the European Enlightenment discourse of the 18th century. The disputes on how to conceptualize ‚Europe‘ in the theatre can be regarded as debates on the sociopolitical question as to what kind of 'Europe' should be presented on the stage. The description and analysis of this historical debate must keep in mind its implications for the present discussion on the cultural orientation of Bulgaria in view of its planned accession to the European Union.

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