Възникване на българския театър и проблемът „свое-чуждо“ във възрожденското общество
The Emergence of Bulgarian Theater and the Problem of “the Domestic and the Foreign” in Revival Society

Author(s): Nikoleta Patova
Subject(s): History, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, 19th Century
Published by: Център за стопанско-исторически изследвания
Keywords: Bulgarian Revival theatre and drama; European modernity; “the domestic and the foreign”; Dobri Voynikov; Todor Ikonomov
Summary/Abstract: Bulgarian theatre emerged after the mid-nineteenth century. The first theatrical displays were greeted with mixed reception - from sincere joy at given performances to fear of the damage they would cause. This contrast of opinions stemmed from the basic opposition of “the domestic and the foreign” for the second half of the Bulgarian 19th century, on the basis of which the new societal and cultural model of social and personal relations was built.Theatre was perceived as an element of European modernity, i.e. as something foreign to traditional Bulgarian cultural practices, and its recognition as part of Bulgarian cultural life took time. How did this happen? The thematic fields that make up the plots of Bulgarian Revival dramaturgy are also based on the opposition and evaluative comparison of the domestic and the foreign.The most commonly used model of a negative character in Revivalist drama is that of the foreigner. Byzantine characters are the traditional negative characters in historical dramas. In later plots, the Byzantines are replaced by representatives of the Greek clergy, who come to embody the generalized dramaturgical image of the foreigner - the Greek. The Revivalist present is also problematized through the theme of European modernity. Instead of a ready and easy model to follow, modernity turns out to be a threat to the “domestic”. It necessitates changes in appearance, language, family and social relations. The Christomatic example of a dramaturgical interpretation of this predicament is D. Voynikov's drama The Misunderstood Civilization.After all, urban culture was making inroads into Bulgarian society and for a little over a decade, the theatre established its place in Bulgarian cultural life. Already in the 1880s, it became an important element of the cultural policy of the young Bulgarian state.

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