Stara Zagora already has its new theatrical event. Between 16 and 21 June 2025, the first edition of the New Open Scenes+ (NOS+) festival took place in the city – an initiative of the Geo Milev Drama Theatre, which aims to transform the city into a sustainable hub for contemporary theatre, artistic dialogue, and international exchange. The ambitious endeavour is supported by the local municipality, as well as numerous sponsors and partners.
The festival stood out not just as a forum for presenting performances, but as a living space for meeting generations, styles and cultures – from classical texts to current stage experiments, from master classes to the presentation of theatre books. Such an endeavour deserves not only attention but also admiration in the increasingly commercialised theatrical world in Bulgaria.
New age theatre
The program included 11 performances presented by seven Bulgarian and one Romanian theatre company. Among the titles were the premiere of The Wizard of Oz (Geo Milev State Theatre), Mother Courage and Her Children (Satirical Theatre), The Roman Woman (NATFA), as well as titles such as Public Enemy by Henrik Ibsen, Silk by Alessandro Barrico and Hamlet by William Shakespeare, among others.
A strong accent in the program was the two Romanian plays – “How We Buried Josef Stalin” by Artur Solomonov, directed by Theodor-Cristian Popescu, and “Coming Home” by Matei Vișniec, directed by Botond Nagy, presented with subtitles in Bulgarian. Their participation reinforced the international character of the festival and emphasised the pursuit of intercultural dialogue. We hope that the organisers will continue sustainably with their attempts to attract performances outside the borders of Bulgaria to the festival poster.
Masters and young voices
Offstage, the festival also offered an educational module that included four workshops, master classes and meetings with artists. The presence of the actor Dimitar Marinov, known from the Oscar-winning film The Green Book, was particularly exciting. The actor conducted a master class in screen presence with young actors.
The module of theatrical workshops included directors Petar Denchev, Damian Tenev and Theodor-Cristian Popescu (Romania), encouraging creative exchange between artists from different countries and generations. Denchev’s workshop was titled Maybe We’re All Mickey Mouse? after the play of the same name by Maja Pelevic; in it, the participants had to send their memories in advance, which they want to forget, and then to recreate them in the respective dialogues, choosing for this purpose a space in the opera itself; and Damyan Tenev proposed the workshop Life in a Mask. Theodor-Cristian Popescu led a master class on creating a dystopian reality on stage.
The city as a stage
The festival was officially opened on the stage of the State Opera – Stara Zagora, with the participation of the Municipal Brass Orchestra, which added a solemn and festive atmosphere to the event. Even before the start of the official program, some performances were completely sold out – a clear sign of the high interest and enthusiasm for theatre among the local audience. The spectators filled the halls with impatience and emotion, creating a sense of liveliness and sharing that only live performing art can generate. During the opening ceremony, special festival statuettes – made by stage designer Maria Gyokova and sculptor Dimo Dimov – were presented to all participating theatres. These unique sculptures have become a symbolic sign of belonging to the newly established festival community – a gesture of recognition and an invitation to sustainable artistic cooperation. Thus, the beginning of the festival was marked not only by an artistic gesture but also by a request for the construction of a new cultural space of exchange, dialogue, and experience.
A fresh start for the performing arts
With a strong artistic charge and support from institutions and audiences, New Open Scenes+ is declared as a platform with the potential to develop into an annual cultural event. Since its debut, the festival has attracted over 6,000 spectators and serious interest from professional circles.
“Stara Zagora needs such an event – theatre is not just art, it is a conversation, a mirror and a catalyst for change,” the organisers say. Amid growing interest in contemporary stage forms, the festival emerged as a new, bright point in the theatrical map of Bulgaria.
