Protest and counter-protest in front of the National Theater and increased police presence – Society – Bulgaria – NOVA News

Protest and counter-protest in front of the National Theater “Ivan Vazov” because of the play “The Gun and the Man” by Bernard Shaw. A police cordon was formed to create a buffer zone and allow everyone with a ticket for the show to enter the hall.

See photos HERE

A few hours before the start of the play “Guns and the Man”, the police blocked all the way to the National Theatre. Two exhibitions were created around the cultural center. Some against the achievement. The others for. Separated by a buffer zone of several meters. Some interpreted the play as anti-Bulgarian. And they greeted the start of the show with boos. Others defended art and culture. And they answered the boos with applause. Among the people who came to support National Theater actors were their guild colleagues, public figures and writers.

“I am here to stand with my face, with my civic position, behind this theater, behind the theater’s right to talk about topics it chooses. And I am against this aggressive pseudo-patriotism, which is already starting to suffocate us and which could lead to very dangerous things very quickly,” said the actress Teodora Duchovnikova.

“When I saw actors like Vlado Penev attacking them, his glasses were taken off and he was beaten. To beat the director of the National Theater with the Samara flag – I can’t help but be here and support them”, said journalist and writer Radoslav Bimbalov.

After the fights in front of the National Theater: Resignation requests and mutual accusations (View)

To thank them for their support, the director of the cultural center spoke to them. “Thank you! We have defended the freedom of creativity and from now on there will be no more censorship and we will not allow censorship in our free country”, said Vasil Vasilev, director of the Ivan Vazov National Theater.

And in a special interview for NOVA, the director of the play, John Malkovich, said that he did not understand why the play had offended some Bulgarians. “People are offended by what they see as offensive. I would rather invite the protesters to watch, I doubt they will be really offended then, and of course that was never my intention, nor at the National Theatre,” said John Malkovich.

The mayor of Sofia was among those who came to see the play that night. “What happened on Thursday is frustrating. And I hope that we, as a society, realize that we should not continue like this. For now, it seems to be calmer and those who came will be able to enjoy the show”, said the mayor of Sofia, Vasil Terziev.

So, the second night of protests ended without too much fuss. And with a full hall.