The Iron Lamp

by Dimitar Talev

stage version and direction – Kalin Angelov

set design and costumes – Ilina Grozeva

music – Plamen Mirchev-Mirona

Cast: Albena Chobanova, Ivan Nikolov, Katya Ivanova, Kaloyan Karaginev, Lora Hristova, Zhanet Keranova, Andrash Konchaliev

The Iron Lamp is a performance based on Dimitar Talev’s emblematic novel.

At the heart of director Kalin Angelov’s stage adaptation lies the dramatic situation faced by a mother forced to sacrifice the life of her own child in order to protect both the child and her entire home from the cruel, heartless, and merciless judgment of society.

The audience witnesses her frantic struggle to preserve her family’s dignity from the harsh verdict of others — unjustly accused and herself caught in the crosshairs of public condemnation, she knows that no one would forgive her daughter’s mistake, would show mercy, or extend understanding to the girl’s youthful recklessness. She must overcome her immense maternal love, her love and devotion to God, and her deeply human resistance in order to commit the unforgivable herself — to risk her child’s life in order to conceal her mistake from others.

The performance is conceived as a kind of public trial, before which she, now resolved to reveal everything, makes public fragments of the most personal, intimate, and cherished moments of her life, examining every detail, every situation, every step that led to the tragic events in her home.

In this way, a deeply intimate, personal story is transformed into a matter of public concern, one in which everyone is called upon to take a stand.