THE ARTIST YANAKI MANASIEV INSPIRED THE PLEVEN THEATRE FOR THE PREMIERE PERFORMANCE "4+1"

On 9 November, at the „Art Center - Pleven“ Gallery, the premiere of the theatrical impression „4+1“, dedicated to the artist Yanaki Manasiev, will take place. The author of the text is Dimitar Kabakov, director Nadya Pancheva, set and costumes - Yasmin Mandelli, music – Asen Avramov.
The event is dedicated to the birthday of the artist Yanaki Manasiev - 7 November 1932.
The performance features the actors Irena Nencheva, Doriana Galabova, Margarita Kostova, Marieta Kalapova, Sergey Konstantinov.

With this premiere, the Pleven theatre launches its newest initiative – „THEATRE IN A GALLERY“ - a partnership between the representative cultural institutions of the city of Pleven – the „Art Center - Pleven“ Gallery and the "Ivan Radoev" Drama and Puppet Theatre.

The play „4+1“ is dedicated to the great Bulgarian artist Yanaki Manasiev (1932 – 1978), one of the best and most underrated creators of the last century. Called "the Bulgarian Picasso and Matisse", he left behind inspiring images, the main theme of his work being woman. It is precisely the space of the gallery and its exhibits that become a natural and picturesque setting for the meeting of four heroines, muses of the Artist, gathered to honour the memory of the creator. In this unusual theatrical composition between documentary, visual art, poetry and artistic fiction, the fates of the four women – models of the Artist – unfold, telling of their encounters with the creator and his art, which overturn their notions of the meaning of human life, the existence of the artist and the painting as a fragment of eternity. Through their different points of view and life experience, the fate of the artist Yanaki Manasiev is revealed, poetically woven into the play through the image of the Artist. 

„4+1" is an unusual play. The idea of creating the performance came in May 2023, when we created and showed a performance at the „Iliya Beshkov“ Art Gallery, dedicated to the work and life of the artist Yanaki Manasiev, shares the author of the play
Dimitar Kabakov. The reaction of the audience gave us the courage to continue and create a complete performance that would preserve its specific theatrical environment and be realised in art galleries. At the performance in May, the curator of the eponymous house-museum, Stefan Ignatov, was also present, and he was deeply moved by this artistic endeavour of ours. With his special permission we also use one of the most famous paintings by Yanaki Manasiev, „Portrait of a Girl“, for the poster of the performance.“

With the performance „4+1“, the beginning of an exciting dialogue between theatre and visual art is laid on the terrain of the prestigious „Art Center - Pleven“ Gallery and its space. The cultural bridge built between the state theatre and the gallery aims to unite the different cultural communities of the city of Pleven and to broaden the perspectives of the theatrical landscape.

Dimitar Kabakov is a playwright, director, poet, actor and author of dozens of plays. He is the recipient of many prestigious national awards. His plays and libretti have been staged all over Bulgaria by directors such as Prof. Zdravko Mitkov, Vazkresia Viharova, Boryana Sechanova (Arabesk Ballet), Stiliyan Petrov and others.