BUS RIDE

Stanislav Stratiev’s play Bus Ride is a satirical work that presents the absurd reality of socialist Bulgaria through the metaphor of a bus journey.

In a crowded, old bus heading toward an unknown destination, various social types are brought together — ordinary citizens, bureaucrats, clever opportunists, and conformists. All of them must travel together, regardless of hardship, lack of comfort, and absurd rules. The play’s central theme is the helplessness of the ordinary person in an ineffective and chaotic system.

The passengers know neither where they are going nor why, yet they continue to obey illogical orders, symbolizing society’s blind submission. Through humor, irony, and grotesque elements, Stratiev exposes the absurdities of bureaucracy, the lack of logic in governance, and people’s inability to oppose injustice.

Bus Ride remains relevant today because it addresses universal problems such as an impersonal system that suppresses the individual and people’s inability to change the status quo, even when they recognize its absurdity.

Desislava Shpatova

BUS RIDE author: Stanislav Stratiev director: Desislava Shpatova

Cast: GROZDAN DASKALOV TODOR KAYKOV MARIO GYULBOV KRISTIAN STOICHKOV STILYANA MARKOVA LYUDMILA DASKALOVA ALEX IVANOV ELENA ZAMYARKOVA CHAVDAR BOZADZHIEV

Scenography and costumes - Yuliyana Voykova-Nayman Composer - Asen Avramov Choreographer - Yanitsa Shopova