Ivan Vazov National Theatre of Bulgaria, premiere 7th November 2024
On Friday the 13th December outside the the National Theatre “Ivan Vazov,” there are police officers and patrol cars. Inside, uniformed law enforcement officers can also be seen, and if I didn’t know about the protests by nationalists that took place here a month ago, I would have assumed that the police presence was a bold directorial decision, which, in the spirit of the title, introduces the viewer to the drama.
However, John Malkovich’s production of Arms and the Man offers nothing quite so bold. Written in 1892, this romantic comedy, one of George Bernard Shaw’s most frequently performed plays, offers a different perspective on the romanticization of war. Set during the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, it takes place in the home of Officer Petkov in Bulgaria shortly after the Battle of Slivnitsa. The play’s title, inspired by Virgil’s Aeneid, highlights the tension between war and man—not through bloodshed, but through its effects on daily life and the characters’ attitudes.
Initially, the “arms” in the title might create a sense of sombreness in the viewer’s expectations, but this dissipates with the raising of the curtain. The performance begins with smoke, twilight, and the figure of Rayna (Kremena Slavcheva), a young girl who cannot sleep. Her mother, Katerina (Eva Tepavicharova), scolds her for staying up late, but the cause of her insomniа, somewhat typically, turns out to be love. It is Rayna’s romantic struggles that set the tone and mood of the performance. The “arms,” apart from providing a backdrop for gunfire in the first scene, are hardly referenced. One could even say that this move is a “weapon” of the author, who pushes the human comedy to the forefront at the expense of the war. Therefore, the plot remains focused on the “man” and his tormented love life. As in Shakespeare, we follow a story of unrequited love, here between the clever servant Nikola (Hristo Petkov) and the rebellious Luka (Irina Miteva); Katerina’s (Eva Tepavicharova) attraction to the younger Swiss officer Bluntschli (Plamen Dimov) at the expense of her husband Petkov (Stoyan Pepelanov), and the romantic quadrangle between Rayna, Bluntschli, Luka, and Sergius (Nencho Kostov).
Arms and the Man, Ivan Vazov National Theatre
The realistic set design by Pierre-François Limboch evokes a sense of time and place. It does not offer a metaphorical or symbolic layer but rather serves the text. The costumes, similarly rooted in realism albeit with a colourful, vibrant, and almost fairy-tale-like quality, which heightens the romantic atmosphere. They create a sense of theatricality in the performance, complementing the characters, who are romantic to the point of pathos. The characters are played with a pronounced expressiveness—psychologically flat, but vivid in their behaviour, and sometimes farcical or extreme in their reactions.
The most striking impression is made by Nencho Kostov in the role of Sergius, an officer in the Bulgarian army. He demonstrates a caricatured, almost absurdly exaggerated heroism, which provoked the loudest laughter in the show. His presence suggests a potential stylistic direction the performance could have taken. Hristo Petkov (Nikola) and Irina Miteva (Luka) also play their roles with precision and ease, however, at times there is a lack of synchronization in the ensemble, a lack of stylistic unity. The diversity in the actors’ interpretations suggests that Malkovich may have given the actors too much freedom, which not all of them fully utilized. This, however, leads to a feeling of slight chaos, and prompts the question of whether this was a deliberate move by Malkovich to emphasize the “chaos of war”, or the result of a lack of a strong directorial concept.
It is entirely possible that Malkovich chose to remain faithful to Shaw’s text, eschewing directorial experiments to focus on the human relationships and comedic misunderstandings. Although this approach makes the performance accessible and entertaining for a wide audience, it feels like the production lacks a sense of personal interpretation—something that one might expect, given Malkovich’s extensive experience on both stage and screen.
The production may not be innovative but it entertains and remains true to the author’s intentions. The story is accessible, and the absurd situations in which the characters find themselves are presented in a way which genuinely delights the audience. Those looking for a classic interpretation will find the performance fully satisfying. And this, in itself, is a success, making for a worthy addition to the repertoire of the National Theatre, one likely to bring joy to an audience coming to watch their favourite actors.
Credits:
Text: George Bernard Shaw//Director: John Malkovich//Scenography: Pierre-François Limboch// Costume Design: Yordan Mihalev// Sound Environment: Yulian Stoichkov// Lighting Design:Ilya Pashnin // Assistant Director: Anastasia Dimitrova //Personal Assistant to the Director:Ivayla Veleva
Cast: Nencho Kostov, Plamen Dimov, Eva Tepavicharova, Kremena Slavcheva, Irina Miteva, Hristo Petkov, Stoyan Pepelanov, Konstantin
Elenkov
For more information, visit: nationaltheatre.bg
Ana Bateva is a theatre director and manager of SPAM Studios in Bulgaria.
She has written five children’s stories, published in Macedonia and three plays, two of which have been staged in Bulgaria. She has participated in over 40 theatre festivals and has won more than 20 awards."
