A Night at the Theater...

I just got back from my first trip to a Bulgarian play. Man that was an experience. I don't even know how to put it into words, but I have to try. The name of the play was "Zavrushtene" which I still don't know the translation to. I think it means something like "The Arriving" or something like that. The plot went something like this:

Act 1: An older man, Georgi, gets a visit from a lady named Milka who tells him that she's in love with him even though he's married. He tells her that he's not interested, to which the Milka responds by exploding emotionally and yelling at him that he'll be sorry and never have a love like her's. The man's wife, Gergana, comes in and wonders what's going on, and Georgi tells her. The couple's son, Svilen, comes home from out of town, now grown and engaged. He has brought his fiance, Eva and they are madly in love. Eva tells the parents that she has no family except for her mother who lives alone. The parents find out that Eva's mother is Milka and proceed to freak out because they have been avoiding her. End of Act 1.

Act 2: The audience learns that the fiance is actually the child of the Georgi and Milka from before he was married to Gergana. This is where the audience started to get into it. Milka comes by the house while everyone is there, and the whole thing is revealed. Of course, Svilen and Eva are shocked at the discovery that they are actually siblings, and a good 10 minutes of crying from everyone ensues. Suddenly, Eva tells everyone to stop, breaks the 4th wall and asks the audience and the family, "But what will happen to my BABY?!" At this point the audience just goes crazy and starts yelling and clapping. End of Act 2.

Act 3. The audience is still going crazy and talking to each other about what has happened. Eva tells Svilen that she isn't actually pregnant and just told that to everyone to see what her mother's reaction would be. The audience lets out a "Awwww..." and calms down. Svilen tells Georgi that she's not pregnant and he goes to tell Gergana. While he is out, Svilen tells Eva that they can still be in love, but not in the same way (in a strange sequence with dimmed lights, sappy music, and a swirling spotlight effect). Milka comes in crying, and no one reveals to her that Eva isn't pregnant. She leaves for good, and Eva leaves too, but says she'll be back. Gergana threatens to leave everyone too because this was such a traumatic experience, but then decides to stay, saying, "This is Love." She and Georgi down a couple of shots and dance horo. The end.

I have to say, that even though the plot might have been on par with a Spanish soap opera's, I was totally entertained. Can't wait for my next one... And now that the Chitalishte (community center) is finally open, I'm sure there will be plenty more opportunities.

Until next time...