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Alexander Morfov >> works >> theatre productions >> Enchanted Night | NT Bulgaria 

Enchanted Night

Ivan Vazov National Theatre of Bulgaria, Sofia 

premiere 19 October 1994, Studio on the IV-th floor 

restaging 1 February 2005, stage "Salza & Smiah" 

restaging 1 May 2011, Studio on the IV-th floor 

 

Based on work from 

Original play and 

director 

Duration

Cast: 

Mrozek, Beckett, Ionesco  

 

Alexander Morfov  

90 min. 

Plamen Peev, Teodor Elmazov, 

Renny Vrangova, Veselin Anchev,

Krasimir Nedev 

Enchanted Night, NT Bulgaria

All the works of man have their origin in creative fantasy. What right have we then to depreciate imagination. 

~ Carl Jung 

 

     This is the story of two unfortunate men who are brought by life's austerity to sleeping in the park but who have never lost their sense for beauty. "Enchanted Night" is first staged in the beginning of the '90s and it reflects the vast melancholy of our modernity - an indiscernible mixture of the irretrievable past and endless expectation of the future. Two alleged losers - Gogo and Didi, have decided to put an end to their lives. Problem is, they only have one bullet. In their last night they reach the ultimate enjoyment of living - overcoming neverending expectation, fear, destruction and hopelessness, they relive the miracle of free spirit, fantasy, game and imagination. Maybe it is in this last night that their dream life will become a reality - one full of magic and charm. 

     Generations change while this production still attracts the audience's interest and appreciation. Of course, we've changed. We've grown as artists and now this text inspired by geniuses such as Beckett, Mrozek and Ionesco, sounds differently, wiser, more mature, with bigger scale and depth. As to me, at the rehearsals I was surprised by myself for not being able to sense some of the hidden meanings but obviously it takes some maturity to be able to walk in the shoes of those characters. Maybe you must go through those crises in your life in order to be able to present them on stage with authenticity. It is as if in the earlier stagings we were simply galloping on the surface. Of course, the show had its charm back then but it was different, like everything in theatre, like every other show. We had fun while on stage. Now, the accent is moved. I think our maturity as actors has given new life to the fairy tale called "Enchanted Night"."

~ Teodor Elmazov, actor 

Enchanted Night
Enchanted Night
Enchanted Night
Enchanted Night
Enchanted Night

A letter to Sasho Morfov that cries to be read, or otherwise known as the 'crying letter'

 

     Let’s start with a recipe. We take roots of different words and boil them in three equal parts. After that we throw away the water that we’ve boiled them in and along with it we also throw away the roots of the words Hate, Obvious, Ordinary, Approximately. We spit three times in our bossom to calm down. The snake does the same, or that makes a total of six spits. After we’re done with the pits we lay in them and start dreaming of inventing anything we wish. And suddenly, here comes the gold fish of poormen and says: You have the right to three Passports.

     We invent a waiting game, we are now waiting for God-knows-who. But he’s already been here and the most terrifying of all would be if he has now left.

     Arrival (landing) is not a function of waiting, it’s a synonim. Waiting is a subjective desire while arrival is something of the scale of God-knows-who, it is an obejctive value (because God-knows-who is an object).There is another option. God-knows-who came once but nobody believed it was him and they even managed to convince him that he is not him. So thus, he joined the waiting. He was so convinced that he even started thinking: When will I arrive? I don’t mind waiting for myself to arrive. But I’m really busy. If I can spare some time from all this waiting I might as well arrive.

     But I know that if I just stay and listen to the grass moving, someone is certainly about to arrive. Whether it's ME, the wind or the fox of the little prince – it doesn’t matter. Maybe it’s the grass itself. 

 

     If I wait long enough,

     I might even welcome myself…

     And recognise myself.

     And that will be the moment

     When I’ll escape

     In panic

     Or

     I’ll simply

     Wake up.

~ Ludmil Stanev

Enchanted Night, 1994
Enchanted Night, 1994
Enchanted Night, 1994
Enchanted Night, 1994
Enchanted Night, 1994

- Oh, see the times we live in! There are no poor people! 

- We are the last poor men on this earth. 

- The last! How come we are always last! Last! Again! 

- Well, it can also be formulated as: we are the only men left on earth. 

- We are the only men on earth?!... We are the whole population! And what a population it is!

- Yep! Half of it can play the accordion! 

- Half of it speaks French fluently! The whole population is literate! Half of it can read and the other half can even write! 

- A literate mankind! And all the people on earth are friends. 

- Dearest friends!... 

- I'm hungry. 

- Half of the world's population is hungry. 

- I am hungry! 

- Well, I don't have any money... 

- Half of the world's population doesn't have any money. 

- Man, that's one fucked-up mankind! 

- Half of it hungry, half of it poor. What's left for this mankind? 

- What's left? Less than half an hour. 

- Less than half an hour? 

- Less than half an hour! 

 

 

 

*"Enchanted Night" is among Morfov's earliest productions and the only chamber work that is still touring with successful performances in Ukraine, Italy, Spain, Albania, Macedonia, Croatia, Morocco, Poland, Serbia, Holland. For touring information click here. Download tech rider here:  

REVIEWS:

 

"Morfov arrived from St. Petersburg for only three days to be able to revive with "his actors" this brilliant production on the stage "Salza & Smiah". It is the management of the theatre to thank for this opportunity for the Bulgarian audience to meet with the great mistery of theatre and to enjoy this theatre chef d'oeuvre."

~ Bring back Morfov to Bulgaria | Prof. Mladen Georgiev, Kultura newspaper (2005)

 

"Grey life is recoloured with the shades of imagination and is brightened by the impulse for longing. In such a night, an enchanted night, you are given the gift to rediscover the joy of playing, the pleasure of freedom of mind and the endless possibilities of human contact. A witty game with death, this production is the director's masterful admission of love for cinema and jazz."

~ Imagination and longing in Morfov's "Enchanted Night" | news.bg, 02.11.2006 

 

"So much reality through the prism of magic, the charm of imagination, of yearning, it flows from the stage... And then those views of reality and the ability to fly, to dream... I won't try to be smart speaking of acting and directing. I think every viewer will support me in my high appreciation of this wonderous chamber experience." 

~ forum commentor 

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