On November 7 in Sofia, the first performance of the play Man and weaponsdirected by John Malkovich, was stormed by hundreds of protesters.
« This piece is a disgrace and should be banned », says a demonstrator, Thursday, November 7, in front of the national theater in Sofia, Bulgaria. Flags, patriotic songs, insults: The first performance of Man and weaponsdirected by John Malkovich, was stormed by hundreds of protesters, who beat the director and several personalities while preventing the public from entering. « This play makes fun of our ancestors who died for Bulgaria »says student Yoana Ilieva, 21, alongside an angry crowd. Several people waiting in line to enter reported that protesters threw rocks and eggs at them
According to the Balkan Insight news site, Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov said the police presence was « sufficient to ensure safety and calm » and that no arrests had been made. He criticized National Theater director Vassil Vassilev for stoking tension by coming to speak to protesters. After the performance played in front of an almost empty room, John Malkovich, who calls himself apolitical, was surprised by this reaction. « The world is living in strange times where the desire for censorship is growing stronger. »he commented with a sad smile.
” It is a light, amusing play that I had already directed in 1985 on Broadway. »
John Malkovich.
The room Man and weaponsby the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw, addresses the Serbo-Bulgarian war of the late 19th century in a humorous tone.e century, in the form of criticism of the militarism and heroization of Bulgarian fighters. It is « a light, amusing play that I had already directed in 1985 on Broadway »explained the American star in an interview with AFP, finding « dangerously naive » the idea of seeking historical authenticity in a play.
« I am sure and certain that I have never insulted » none of the 47 countries where I have worked, insists the septuagenarian, bare head and thin graying mustache. « In reality, I think it’s not the room that’s the problem or even me. I’m just a cog to draw attention to them ». In a Bulgaria shaken since 2021 by an unprecedented political crisis, nationalist movements are thriving against a backdrop of pro-Russian disinformation.
A “mediocre” piece for the far right
For the ultranationalist Vazrajdane party, the third parliamentary force, « the room is mediocre » and the staging « absolutely inadequate ». « The place for such works is not in Bulgaria »added the Writers’ Union, offended by « the ridicule of the thousands of soldiers who fell on the front for freedom and the reunification of the homeland ». If the play already aroused protests in the first part of the 20th centurye century, it was performed in 2000 in Bulgaria without provoking such outraged reactions, remembers the director at the time, Nikolay Polyakov. « The current climate is much more tense, passions are unleashed, hatred stoked against everything Western and American. »he told AFP.
The prosecution has opened an investigation into the instigators of the violence. The Sofia Theater has received the support of several European associations, including the European Theater Convention (ETC) which points « the worrying trend of far-right groups across Europe seeking to hinder freedom of expression ». In the audience, Nikolay Hristov, a 66-year-old architect, did not « nothing anti-Bulgarian seen » in a comedy that « is more about love and stories of honor ». « Like all Bulgarians my age, I served in the army and I do not feel insulted by the text at all. Quite the contrary »he confides.
