Play Opening Night Fires up Sofia Audience

Todor Kolev, (R), a close friend and teacher of director, Dimitar Bozakov (L), was a special guest of the opening night of the play "A Servant of Two Masters". Photo by M3 Communications.

Dimitar Bozakov, the most successful Bulgarian theatrical director in Israel, fired up the audience at the National Theater "Ivan Vazov" Thursday evening.

The opening night of the play "A Servant of Two Masters" of famous Italian playwright, Carlo Goldoni, was presented for the first time in more than 100 years before a full house.

The outstanding performance of actors Chocho Popiordanov and Ivan Yurukov and actresses Maria Sapundzhieva and Ilyana Kodzhabasheva, was interrupted often by a thunder of applause.

Popular Bulgarian actor, Todor Kolev, a close friend and teacher of the play's director, Dimitar Bozakov, was a special guest of the performance.

The opening night was initially scheduled for March 25, but had to be postponed due to a freak incident when part of the sets collapsed during rehearsal, injuring two of the cast members.

Dimitar Bozakov has an 18-year-long and very successful career in Israel and returned to Bulgaria to direct Goldoni' play.

"I have been waiting for this for the last 15 years. Comedy is my favorite genre and I accepted the challenge to return to my motherland, to show something new, and at the same time, to preserve my personality, to show both the funny and the dramatic point of view of a "citizen of the world"." It is important to me to make the audience laugh, but the humor needs to come from serious things in life," Bozakov says.

Bozakov graduated from the Bulgarian Theatrical College in 1984 with a degree in Acting, and later obtained a Master's in Directing. He has lived and worked in Israel since 1991 where he directed over 50 plays at various venues. He is also teaching at the "Beit Zvi" School of the Performing Arts and the "Haifa" University.