On 16 May 1925, the dome of the St. King Cathedral (now St. Nedelya Cathedral) in Sofia was blown up. More than 130 people were killed and 500 were injured. In the swift crackdown launched by the authorities that very same day, more than 150 people disappeared without a trace in the space of just two weeks.

One of them was the journalist Yosif Herbst – the husband of Viola Karavelova, the elder sister of Lora Karavelova. As Viola wanders the streets of Sofia in search of her missing husband, trying through her love to rise above the political antagonism that divides people into nothing but enemies, Bulgaria is going through one of the most turbulent periods in its history. The country is torn apart by tensions between the government and the opposition, a refugee crisis, hunger, debt, coups d'état, uprisings, terrorist attacks, and political assassinations.

Unfortunately, Viola's story, although no less tragic than that of her sister, has remained largely forgotten. Based on real events, this production seeks to correct that injustice while exploring the inevitable connection between social processes and personal experiences. It also poses a question: Is it possible to find a way of living that rejects the very idea of an enemy?

Boyan Kracholov is one of the most compelling contemporary theatre directors. He received the 2017 ASKEER Award for Rising Star for the production This Is NOT Hamlet and was nominated for the 2021 ASKEER Award for Contemporary Bulgarian Playwriting for The Coin. In 2024, he won the IKAR Award for Best Director for The Petrovs in and Around the Flu.

In 2025, his production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead premiered, marking his directorial debut on the Main Stage of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre. The production earned him a nomination for the 2026 IKAR Award for Best Director. Starting from the 2026/2027 academic year, Boyan Kracholov is an assistant lecturer in the acting and directing class led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yavor Gardev at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts “Krastyo Sarafov” (NATFA).

SECOND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR:

Kristina Zaharieva

PHOTOGRAPHER:

Stefan Zdraveski

PREMIERE: 4 November 2026