A marvellous thing happened this year in Bulgaria, with the reopening of the Sofia Youth theatre after nearly 20 long years of renovation works. The building itself has status as a cultural monument but remained closed for so long due to insufficient funds being available for its restoration. Dating from the 1930s, the structure is symbolic within Bulgarian theatrical circles. It has been under reconstruction for 19 years with several governments making plans to restore just parts of it, and the cost of the overall project currently stands at about 4.5 million EURO.
The restored building has a new hall holding 461 seats and a balcony which can accommodate 100 spectators. Twelve state of the art dressing rooms and a club/restaurant have been built especially for the young actors and the audience has been provided with a bar.
More than 560 plays have been performed on stage at the National Youth Theatre with some of Bulgaria’s best actors and actresses appearing there regularly, and now that it has been transformed theatrical circles are keen to see a return to its former glory.
