"The Iron Candlestick" is a play based on the iconic novel by Dimitar Talev.

At the core of director Kalin Angelov's stage adaptation lies the dramatic situation in which a mother is forced to sacrifice her child's life in order to protect both the child and her entire household from the cruel, heartless, and merciless judgment of society. The audience witnesses her desperate struggle to preserve her family's dignity against the heavy condemnation of the people—falsely accused herself, subjected to society’s harsh scrutiny, she knows that no one would forgive her daughter's mistake, show mercy, or understand the youthful recklessness of the girl. She must overcome her immense maternal love, her faith and devotion to God, and her basic human resistance, in order to commit the unforgivable—to risk her child's life to hide the mistake from others.

The performance is structured as a kind of public trial, where the mother, having resolved to reveal everything, makes fragments of the most personal, intimate, and sacred moments of her life public. She examines every detail, every situation, every step that led to the tragic events in her household. In this way, a deeply intimate, personal story transforms into a public case, challenging everyone to take a stance.

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Reviews:

"Wonderful performance!"
Yordanka Yadkova-Spaseva