Snapshot

The manager: Ivailo Hristov
The job: Artistic director
The company: Modern Theatre
In brief: Bulgaria’s artistic world was shaken last December when a new theatre was announced, presented under the name of Modern Theatre. Behind the idea of the privately funded theatre are two people symbolising the link between money and art. The financial support comes from Greek businessman Dimitrios Arvanitis, known for his passion for Bulgarian theatre, while Bulgarian popular actor and director Ivailo Hristov is the artistic director. At a media event in December, Hristov said that the theatre would bet on modern contemporary art, performed by Bulgaria’s finest actors in the best possible surroundings.

“Unfortunately, we won’t be able to meet this deadline, because building repairs took longer than we expected,” Hristov says. He admits the day to day business routine has become a part of his weekly workload. “I’m the artistic director but, frankly, I deal with everything concerning the theatre. It is a 24-hour job. I get up at 4.30am and head to my office. Problems are legion. Repairs are not things under one’s full control,” he says. “Hence, we’re postponing the premiere, but I hope we can open this autumn.”

According to him, the hall and building are the most important assets of a theatre. The Modern Theatre will occupy the site of the former Bulgarian-Soviet friendship house on Evlogi Georgiev Boulevard in Sofia.  

“Our competition is the state owned theatres in Sofia, all of which have their own buildings. We want the audience to have the best possible theatrical experience, so we won’t cut corners on repairs,” Hristov says. The venue will have a large and small stage, a foyer suitable for art exhibitions and seating for about 416 (large stage) plus 200 (small stage).

Given that it is a private theatre, Hristov and Arvanitis have been lucky in one  respect. The theatre building has been provided by Overgas natural gaz distribution company. However, the money for the repairs came from a more mundane business source - a bank.

In  December 2007, Hristov said that investment in the project would total 3.5 million leva, a considerable sum for any Bulgarian theatre. So how does this sum complement Hristov and Arvanitis’ business plan?

“It’s completely natural for a business enterprise such as ours to try to secure a return on its investment, so we’ve made our calculations carefully,” he says.

Theatre has been booming recently in Bulgaria, making it difficult  to get a ticket on the same day of a performance. The question is whether the boom is strong enough to return a 3.5 million leva investment. 

Hristov is no romantic on the issue. “This money did not come from somebody’s pocket but from a bank, so we’ll have to start returning it at some point. We know that.”

Inevitably, when money is involved in an artistic project, the tendency is to veer towrds commercialism. “There’s nothing wrong in being commercial. In other European countries large theatres offer high prices and yet they are full. We will stage serious plays and we won’t opt for the easy route in search of high profits. Our aim is to offer quality.”

Furthermore, Hristov wants his theatre to steer clear of deliberate provocation despite the fact that it is called Modern Theatre. “Successful theatres in other countries present traditional plays.  Alternative plays are usually performed in basements and other shady venues. For some reason in Bulgaria it’s the other way around and I don’t think this should be the case.”

Some describe modern theatre as the fashion of the day but not Hristov.

“I don’t know why but here some people think that if a play is popular - and well attended - then it is not that good. As if the criteria for a quality production is a limited audience! I’ve always thought that theatre existed for the public, to make people enter the hall. The more people on seats, the better the quality,” he says.

Sofia has dozens of state-owned theatres with devoted fans and years of experience behind them. “Competition is strong,” he admits. “We will offer audiences something completely new starting with the plays. We have already selected about 20 modern plays from European, Russian and US authors, plays that have never been staged in Bulgaria.” People may appreciate Pulitzer-prize winning plays, but this was not a guarantee of success, Hristov adds.

The theatre will count on famous directors to attract audiences. Kama Ginkas from Russia and Slobodan Unkovski from Macedonia have already been scheduled to be at the helm of productions. “Ginkas will come to visit this month and do a casting. Unkovski was here last year to meet the actors so these are one of the names we have signed up with.” Besides an actor, Hristov is a director as well. “I’ll restrict myself to directing two plays but if some director thinks I am suitable for his play I’ll be more than glad to appear in it,” he says.

When the theatre’s opening was announced last year Hristov revealed the names of participating actors. The list featured some of Bulgaria’s most popular thespians. “We have 18 actors on board at the moment and we’re receiving job applications all the time.”

“Flexible” is a word Hristov uses a lot. “I know that 18 actors is not a large company but we’re open to all actors, meaning that we intend to be flexible. Whenever we don’t have the right actor in hand for a certain role we’ll look for someone outside the company if we think he or she is ideal for the part.” Such an actor is Culture Minister Stefan Danailov, one of Bulgaria’s most revered performers. “We have a part that is perfect for him and he will play on our stage.”

As part of the artistic brotherhood, Hristov did not have many problems convincing actors to leave their jobs at state-owned theatres and join him in his quest. “Reactions were varied but most of the actors agreed immediately and embraced the idea. Some needed time to think but, in the end, they all agreed.”

As a private theatre one would expect payment to be higher than in state-owned theatres. “Let’s just say that our actors will be remunerated better than in state-owned theatres,” Hristov says.

He leaves no doubt what he expects in return. “We plan to stage performances every night, something unprecedented in Bulgaria. We’ll work non-stop, the whole year through. August will be the only time we close for holidays. Of course, we won’t be able to achieve this in the beginning but this is our long-term goal. Actors know this and they are ready to work but this doesn’t mean that the same actors will have to perform every night because we will have a repertory-type operation with different plays every evening.”

Hristov also believes that good acoustics are vital to lure audiences. “We’ve made contacts with Moscow’s acoustic laboratory and we have a project ready. We will not skimp on quality,  especially when it comes to equipment. I want the sound, the lights and sets to be perfect.”

Even the best play can lose its glamour, however, if one feels uncomfortable watching it. “Seats are also crucial. I don’t want people to have aching knees the day after seeing one of our plays.” He had experts measuring the exact angle of seats to ensure the best view and sound. “People are used to seeing quality images on the TV and Internet, so we have to meet their expectations. The atmosphere on the stage and in the hall are two different things but a combination of both give you the perfect image.”

Modern Theatre will meet all modern standards, he says. “For me, a theatrical experience can only be described as good when a story is well told, mixed with inspired performances. Everything else is just a means to tell the story.”

So with award-winning plays, famous directors, popular actors and comfortable surroundings, Hristov hopes to have a full house every night. Theatregoers are only expected to pay the price of a ticket. “Someone - I forget who - tried to calculate the real market price of a theatre ticket in Bulgaria last year. I think it was in the range of 40 to 50 leva, or 25 euro. But we’ve decided not to offer tickets that are more expensive than in other theatres.” Hence tickets will be in four to 15 leva range, the same as in the Ivan Vazov National Theatre.

When Hristov announced the names of the actors in the theatre’s company some accused him of “poaching” perfromers from fellow directors. He denies this. “All actors will fulfill their current contractual obligations. Then they’ll come to us. So I won’t be interfering in other theatres’ work.”

He thinks that Modern Theatre will have a positive impact on the community. “The vacancies we create will be filled with young actors from the theatre’s academy, which is great for them. In this way theatres will be given the chance to create many new stars.”