Prof. Kamelia Nikolova receives the IKAR’2026 Award for her fundamental historical research

Prof. Kamelia Nikolova, DSc, from the Theatre Sector, was awarded the IKAR’2026 Prize for her book ‘BULGARIAN THEATRE 1856–2026. Repertoire policies. Staging Practices’. The publication is produced by the Institute of Art Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the ‘Antract’ Association, and the nomination was made by the Guild of Theatre Scholars, Critics and Playwrights of the Union of Artists in Bulgaria (UAB).
The book traces the history of theatre in Bulgaria from its creation in 1856 to the present 2026, which marks its 170th anniversary. The study examines all significant facts, personalities, and processes across the different periods of its development by combining a conceptually consistent narrative with an analysis of emblematic cases (case studies). The main focus is on two of the defining elements of the theatrical process – the repertoire and the performance, and, respectively, the repertoire policies and staging practices in Bulgarian stage art.
The fundamental research of Prof. Kamelia Nikolova, DSc, comes out on the eve of the 170th anniversary of the Bulgarian theatre and is its first comprehensive contemporary history.
The book ‘THE BULGARIAN THEATRE 1856–2026. Repertoire policies. Staging Practices’ by Prof. Kamelia Nikolova, DSc, was presented before the award ceremony, on 5 March, at the Sredets Gallery, where a wide-ranging discussion on the book was held among colleagues, students and guests who filled the hall.
The IKAR Awards are presented each year on World Theatre Day, 27 March, at a special celebratory ceremony, and this year marked the 52nd presentation.