Boundless revenge

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Alexandru Ionașcu

Anniversary in Craiova and a guest performance of “Medea” from Sofia

The Marin Sorescu National Theater in Craiova celebrated its 175th anniversary. As part of the celebrations, literary secretary Nicolae Coande presented his comprehensive monograph entitled Panorama of the Marin Sorescu National Theatre in Craiova 2000–2025 in the theatre foyer. The mayor of Craiova, Lia Olguța Vasilescu, and His Excellency Radko Vlaykov, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to Romania, spoke at the event. The highlight of the evening was the performance of the tragedy “Medea,” directed by Declan Donnellan, with the participation of actors from the visiting Ivan Vazov National Theater in Sofia.

The motive for revenge in “Medea”: When love turns to rage

What remains when you have risked everything, fleeing your homeland for the sake of your beloved? The only consolation is to seek refuge in his country. But what happens when the one for whom you have abandoned your entire familiar world abandons you for another woman? Driven to the brink, without a homeland and betrayed by her husband, Medea sees only the path to revenge. The brilliant play Medea immerses the audience in a tragic atmosphere, capable of overwhelming the senses with the weight of abandonment and seething rage. Medea is the foundation of Jason’s success: she helps him obtain the famous Golden Fleece and escape from Colchis with the Argonauts, sacrificing her father and killing her own brother—all in the name of Jason. Later, in Argos, she plots the murder of his uncle Pelias. And Jason? He takes another wife. Abandoned, Medea seeks revenge.

Radina Kardjilova: a force of nature on stage

Actress Radina Kardjilova, in the role of Medea, is a true force of nature on stage. She is capable of fixing her sharp gaze, raising her hands to the ceiling as if summoning the memory of past tenderness, confidently challenging Creon’s injustice and opposing Jason’s indifference. With her unbridled fury, Kardjilova conveys her character’s hesitation-between the radiant hope that Aegisthus can save her from endless wandering without identity and children, and the accumulated anger toward the husband who rejected her.

Set design and language: Blurring the boundaries

The performance, played in Bulgarian, was highly interactive. The actors performed in close proximity to the audience and even moved among the spectators, who followed the translation on screens above them. In this way, the audience formed a circle around the actors in the center of the stage, while the screens with the translation outlined a second circle above the spectators. Observing both the expressions and the subtitles, the viewer feels like part of a human panopticon. Radina Kardjilova’s ability to subtly anticipate the reactions of the other actors, but also to leave room for vulnerability, was impressive. She almost created the feeling that it was possible for her to renounce her decision to kill her children, even though everyone knows that Euripides’ tragedy does not allow for such a twist.

Emotional peaks and ancient irrationality

Medea pursues Jason, energetically passing through the audience, and the pain and joy written on her face reveal a hidden humanity that bursts forth in this moment of crisis, abandonment, and uprooting. In ancient Greek myths, Medea is a sorceress, a servant of the goddess Hecate. Radina Kardjilova recreates this image in moments of tension—as a symbol of primal, irrational rage, beyond all social conventions. In the vision of the National Theater team, Medea is also a protest against the indifference hidden behind the facade of the conventional family. Scenes that look like they were taken from Christmas photos of the perfect family show the couple’s two children hugging their mother and playing.

Male characters: rationality and indifference

The male characters are presented in contrast. Creon is the embodiment of cold seriousness, almost like a royal statue, unwavering in his condemnation of Medea to leave Argos. Valentin Ganev’s presence is restrained but powerful, representing a cold, albeit unjust, rationality. In the role of Jason, Velislav Pavlov is almost irritating with his demonstrated indifference to Medea, trying to offer psychological resistance to the reproaches of his rejected wife, but ultimately succumbing to frustration. In an emotional moment, the lights go out and Jason energetically walks through the audience. Jason finds no way out; he cannot comprehend the murder of his children, and the desperate look on his face is the culmination of a tragedy he did not expect.

A shocking finale and conclusion

The performance begins disturbingly, with the first lines in Bulgarian spoken by Cretan women, which can be heard among the audience, blurring the line between actors and spectators. The ending is very powerful: Radina Kardjilova, dressed in white, covers her children lying next to her with two shrouds and sprinkles them with roses. Velislav Pavlov’s unwavering performance as Jason—whose masculinity falters only at the last moment when confronted with murder—transports the viewer to ancient Greece, a world of heroes consumed by arrogance. Medea, directed by Declan Donnellan, is a powerful and shocking performance that deserves to be seen many times. It is a captivating spectacle with unpredictable moments and an incredible heroine – frightening, but also unexpectedly gentle when she reveals the injustice she has experienced. For my part, I intend to see Donnellan’s Medea in Sofia as well.

Conclusion and cultural parallels:

On July 9, 1850, the Bulgarian poet Ivan Vazov, patriarch of Bulgarian literature, was born, in the same year as Mihai Eminescu – parallels that encourage the building of a dynamic cultural identity between the two neighboring countries. As Vlad Dragulescu, artistic director of the theater in Craiova, once said, let us hope that in two centuries, the Marin Sorescu National Theater will celebrate its 300th anniversary.

About the play “Medea” by Euripides

DIRECTOR:

Declan Donnellan

SET DESIGNER:

Nick Ormerod

ACTORS:

Radina Kardjilova, Velislav Pavlov, Valentin Ganev, Asen Dankov, Yavor Vulkanov, Stelian Radev, Vara Tabakova, Radena Vulkanova, Zhoreta Nikolova, Stefania Koleva, Elena Ivanova, Nadia Keranova, Ana Papadopoulou, and children Nikola Sarzev and Peter Sarzev (understudies Boris Petrishki and Boyan Chelebiev)

TRANSLATION FROM GREEK TO ENGLISH:

Lucinda Dawkins

TRANSLATION FROM GREEK TO BULGARIAN:

Doroteya Tabakova

DRAMATIC CONSULTANT AND PROGRAM EDITOR:

Mira Todorova

MOVEMENT DIRECTOR:

Rosen Mihaylov

COMPOSER:

Yulian Stoichkov

LIGHTING DESIGNER:

Ilya Pashnin

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR:

Rafael Bizhev

Being abandoned by your compatriots

Dimitar Popov: The Romanian-Bulgarian exhibition in Craiova of documents from the 1877-1878 war commemorates an extremely important event in the history of our peoples

Photo: The National Theatre in Craiova celebrated 175 years since its establishment (source: Alexandru Ionașcu)

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