Сценографът Светослав Генев като обществено-политическа фигура в развитието на Пловдивския драматичен театър
Scenographer Svetoslav Genev and his key role for the development of the Plovdiv Drama Theatre

Summary/Abstract: Scenographer Svetoslav Genev is one of the most interesting theatre artists from the communist history of Bulgarian theatre. His creative work begins in the early 60s and lasts approximately 40 years with his most productive and exciting period being related to the time when he was director of the Plovdiv Dramatic Theatre (1966–1974). It is during these 8 years that Genev carries out his most extensive scenographic projects, which up until this moment have no rival on the Bulgarian stage. Along with his creative career, the artist Svetoslav Genev remains in the history of Bulgarian theatre as a successful director and public figure, who tried to develop the theatrical institution to the point of it becoming a modern cultural centre.The current paper aims at presenting not only the scenograher’s artistic path, but also his organisational work and its importance for the progress of the theatre life in Plovdiv. In the mid-60s of the 20th century, the Plovdiv theatre becomes one of the leading theatrical centres in the country, concentrating creative energy. A few very bright artistic figures meet here consecutively (in the space of a 20-year period): directors Christo Christov, Krikor Azaryan, later Panteley Panteleev, Lyuben Groys, Ivan Dobchev, and scenographers Svetoslav Genev, Veselin Kovachev, Todor Bruskov, who build the image of the theatre then. From the mid-60s, the theatre puts on stage performances, impressive in nature for communist Bulgaria. In them, the scenography is a synthesised metaphoric image, interpreting the main theme of the dramaturgic piece. In some cases it even exceeds the creative power of the director and completely dominates the play. The leading figure in this process is the artist Svetoslav Genev. He is among the scenographers who categorically disregard the illustrative scenography and aim to use all technical facilities of the stage and its mechanics, and if such are missing, he does the impossible to create them. His decisions in the plays by Christo Christov, Krikor Azaryan and Panteley Panteleev are symbolic in the history of the Plovdiv Theatre. His tight connections with the party allows him to express to a great extent his attitude freely, to defend his decisions even when they are not in synchronicity with those of the party.The suggested issue is a serious research challenge. It is linked to a few objective difficulties regarding the poor condition of the archive in the Plovdiv Theatre and the unexplored personal archive of Svetoslav Genev. For the purposes of this study some personal archives of Genev’s relatives will also be examined, which are kept in the city documents’ archive, as well as interviews with some of his contemporaries.

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