Национално срещу универсално в българската драматургия
National versus Universal in Bulgarian dramaturgy

Summary/Abstract: From its very beginning, Bulgarian drama has been deeply obsessed with the idea that it must contribute to the building of national consciousness. That is why it constructs its canon following the historical narrative of the Bulgarian statehood and the destiny of the nation. There are cyclical returns or repulsions to/from this canon in the subsequent historical periods. The intellectual reflection of modernity seeks the paired figure of the universal and the national as an ideal. The article highlights both the sharp denial of the existing canon of Bulgarian drama as well as the desire to bridge the gap between the national and the universal in the criteria for assessing the cultural past and present. The historical development of theatrical literature in the 20th century shows a complex game between these oppositions, as the Bulgarian drama in its highest achievements gradually goes beyond the national historical narrative and opens to universal themes, problems and conflicts. At the beginning of the 21st century, this opposition seems to be gradually fading, especially in the postdramatic stage forms that strongly influence the new dramaturgies.

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