A Handspan Above the Ground

A documentary promenade performance about Ruza Nikolova and Lilia Dimitrova

Venue: Drama Theatre – Gabrovo

Direction and dramaturgy – Martina Novakova

Set and costume design – Gergana Lazarova-Rankal

Featuring: Nadezhda Petkova, Magdalena Slavcheva, Radostina Angelova, Silvia Boeva, Violina Dotseva, Tanya Yorgova

“A Handspan Above the Ground” is a documentary promenade performance about actresses Ruza Nikolova and Lilia Dimitrova, who left a profound mark on Gabrovo’s theatrical scene.

The stories of Ruza and Lili—and of all the artists who dedicated themselves to this theatre—are an invitation to come close to the acting profession.

As we enter the theatre’s unfamiliar spaces and the perilous fields of memory, we reach what outlives the ephemeral nature of theatre: the imprint an actor leaves on the audience and on the people around them.

Ruza Nikolova and Lilia Dimitrova emerge through the memories and stories of their loved ones, colleagues, and friends. Their interviews are recreated using the technique of verbatim theatre, “word for word,” exactly as they were spoken. Lines from the characters in the actresses’ most iconic roles resound, along with artistic texts inspired by the subject—words that perhaps someone, somewhere, once uttered.

The performance is a journey through their lives and, through them, through the history of the Gabrovo Theatre and its present.

Here, the past exists in the present tense. And theatre always stands a handspan above the ground.

The performance was created with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and in partnership with the Bulgarian National Radio.