Doubt

by John Patrick Shanley

Translation: Denitsa Dimitrova

Director: Stayko Murdjev

Set and Costume Design: creative collective

Music: Petar Dundakov

Video Design: Nikola Nalbantov

Consultant: Yuliana Voykova-Nyman

Cast: Kalin Vrachanski, Stanka Kalcheva, Hristina Dzhurova / Mariana Boneva, Radena Valkanova

About the Performance

A crime psychological thriller in which the audience is not merely a spectator, but at once witness and investigator. A story that sweeps you along like a rip current and carries you into the center of a world built on strict rules, moral codes, and order, only to be shattered into pieces in order to reveal the cruel, yet also captivating face of sin. “Doubt” is a modern parable about the relentless fluidity of truth, about the shifting sands of reality — anything is possible, everyone is both criminal and saint, love turns into sin and thoughts into corruption, truth is merely a screen for lies, and lies are the only wooden raft on which you can survive the stormy sea of doubt and uncertainty.

Kalin Vrachanski is unrecognizable as the priest preaching the virtues of compassion and mutual support. Stanka Kalcheva is monstrous in her passion for the truth and in her merciless self-sacrifice in the name of justice and order. Mariana Boneva and Radena Valkanova leave a lasting impression on the audience’s mind with their masterfully sculpted, intensely psychological characters. Petar Dundakov’s music clothes this tense reality in sounds and harmonies that reach us as if from other dimensions.

A landmark performance, proving once again director Stayko Murdjev’s deep devotion to truth in art and to excellence in theatre, driven toward the elevated and the complex, the beautiful and the ephemeral.

Awards and Nominations

• 2023 IKAR nomination in the “Leading Actress” category for Stanka Kalcheva
• 2023 IKAR nomination in the “Supporting Actress” category for Mariana Boneva
• Award in the “Direction” category for Stayko Murdjev from the Festival of Small Theatrical Forms 2023
• Award in the “Female Role” category for Stanka Kalcheva from the Festival of Small Theatrical Forms 2023
• Selection for the Apollonia Arts Festival 2023

Team

Poster: Teodora Simova

Poster Photographer: Dilyana Florentin

Performance Photographer: Ivan Donchev

Cast

Kalin Vrachanski, Mariana Boneva, Stanka Kalcheva, Radena Valkanova, Hristina Dzhurova

Creative Team

• Author: John Patrick Shanley
• Director: Stayko Murdjev
• Set Design: creative collective
• Music: Petar Dundakov
• Translation: Denitsa Dimitrova
• Designer: Teodora Simova

Genre: Drama, thriller