The team of Nikola Vaptsarov Drama Theatre – Blagoevgrad is delighted to inform you that the project “Cultural Bridges in Southwestern Bulgaria: Access and Inclusion through Theatre” has been supported under the programme of the National Culture Fund: “Presentation to Bulgarian Audiences of Contemporary Bulgarian Productions from the Cultural and Creative Industries Sector.”
The performances from the theatre’s active repertoire, which will be presented in four settlements in Southwestern Bulgaria — the town of Godech, the town of Svoge, the village of Krupnik, and the town of Belitsa — are scheduled as follows:
- 22.01.2026 Community Centre “Gradishte 1907” – Svoge
10:30 a.m. — “Cinderella” - 22.01.2026 Community Centre “Nikola Yonkov Vaptsarov – 1899” – Godech
5:30 p.m. — “Nevolyata” - 22.01.2026 Community Centre “Gradishte 1907” – Svoge
7:00 p.m. — “The Iron Candlestick” - 23.01.2026 Community Centre “Nikola Yonkov Vaptsarov – 1899” – Godech
6:30 p.m. — “The Iron Candlestick” - 24.02.2026 Community Centre “Vladimir Mayakovsky – 1937” – Krupnik village
10:30 a.m. — “Nevolyata” - 24.02.2026 Community Centre “Vladimir Mayakovsky – 1937” – Krupnik village
7:00 p.m. — “The Iron Candlestick” - 25.02.2026 г. Community Centre “Georgi Todorov – 1885” – Belitsa
10:30 a.m. — “Cinderella”
7:00 p.m. — “Marriage”
The implementation of the project activities will contribute to the decentralisation of the performing arts, to improving access to culture by encouraging the demand, distribution, and consumption of existing cultural products outside major urban centres, as well as to overcoming social and territorial inequalities.
In this regard, the planned performances will have a fixed ticket price: BGN 5 for children’s performances and BGN 10 for evening performances.
The project also envisages daytime creative workshops for children, held after the children’s performance in each settlement, as well as audience discussions following the performances for adults, aimed at cultural and social inclusion, artistic reflection, and the fostering of intergenerational dialogue.
Creative workshops The creative workshops for children will be held under the motto “Recreate Your Favourite Character”. They will be led by young theatre professionals and actors from the troupe of Drama Theatre “Nikola Vaptsarov” and will aim to actively and creatively engage young audiences in the process of discovering theatre and the performing arts. Children will have the opportunity to create their own puppets, masks, or paper characters using accessible materials, inspired by the fairy-tale figures they will see on stage. Through these activities, the workshops will stimulate their imagination, dexterity, and interest in theatre, while also encouraging cultural participation from an early age.
The audience discussions will take place after the evening performances and are of particular importance for the spectators. They are aimed at engaging and developing audiences by gradually introducing them to different genres, styles, forms, and practices.
Through the discussions, the project aims to stimulate cultural participation among children, young people, and adults, including representatives of vulnerable and socially isolated groups, by actively involving them in creative dialogue and encounters with professional performing arts that address themes of universal human significance.
In this regard, we kindly ask you to inform the audience attending the evening performances about the opportunity to take part in a discussion with the director of the performance and the actors after the end of the show.
Special attention will be given to ensuring access to the events for socially isolated groups through cooperation with local mediators and organisations, who will support the meaningful inclusion of diverse audiences.
The project is based on the principles of gender equality, equal opportunities, non-discrimination, the participation of disadvantaged people, and the inclusion of representatives of various minority groups.
The project envisages the active participation of local mediators and partner organisations, who will assist in identifying, informing, and involving representatives of vulnerable social groups, including people with low incomes, persons from minority backgrounds, elderly people, people with disabilities, and other socially isolated groups.
The activities will be tailored to the needs of these audiences through the selection of accessible venues, the provision of easy access to information and logistics, as well as through direct communication.
Free access to the events will be provided for people from isolated social groups.
