DON JUAN

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The French writer Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Molière, one of the most significant comedy playwrights in the history of literature, was born on 15 January 1622 into a wealthy merchant family. It is assumed that he completed legal studies; however, at the age of twenty, in 1643, he joined the Béjart family’s theatre troupe. He used the name Molière as a pseudonym to avoid bringing shame upon his family due to his acting profession.

Performing for both common people and distinguished patrons of royal and noble lineage, and creating commissioned plays meant to entertain the king and his courtiers, he became the court playwright under the patronage of Louis XIV.

He was known for his satirical comedies that criticised social norms and hypocrisy. His style of writing embraced elements of comedy of manners and tragicomedy, while his characters often reflected societal flaws. Molière managed the theatre and wrote comedies in which he usually played the lead roles. He achieved his first major success in 1659 with the play The Affected Ladies. In more than 30 plays, he mocked class prejudices, corruption within the aristocracy and greed among the bourgeoisie.

During the performance of his last play The Imaginary Invalid, Molière collapsed on stage. He died several hours later, on 17 February 1673, and interestingly did not receive the last rites, as the priests refused to come at his request. According to the customs of the time, actors were not permitted to be buried on consecrated ground. Nevertheless, the king authorised his burial in the part of the cemetery reserved for unbaptised children.

On the Niš theatre stage, his plays have been featured in the repertoire since the very founding of the Sinđelić Theatre, such as:

1887/88 – The Misanthrope, The Imaginary Invalid, 1907 – The Imaginary Invalid, 1924 – The Imaginary Invalid, Tartuffe, 1936/37 – George Dandin, 1938 – Tartuffe, 1950 – The Doctor in Spite of Himself, 1951 – Tartuffe, 1952 – The Learned Ladies, 1987 – The School for Husbands,  2015 –  George Dandin.

The National Theatre in Niš is now staging Molière’s Don Juan, written in 1665, for the first time. Molière wrote altogether 33 comedies, and his plays have been translated into numerous languages as well as performed worldwide.

Tamara Milosavljević

DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY

Vasil Vasilev is a Bulgarian theatre director and performing arts manager, with extensive experience in the fields of cultural policy and management. He earned a postgraduate degree in theatre directing from the Krastyo Sarafov National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts and a degree in business management from the D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics in 2015.

Vasilev received a Bronze Knight award in Moscow for the play The Face by Alexandar Galin. In 2019, he won the Best Director at the 9th International Chamber Theatre Festival, organised by the New European Theatre Action (NETA) for the play Contract by Mike Bartlett.

He has worked with various theatres across Bulgaria (Tears and Laughter Theatre, and Theatre 199 in Sofia; the Ivan Radoev Drama and Puppet Theatre in Pleven; the Sava Dobroplodni Drama and Puppet Theatre in Silistra, etc.). Vasilev has also directed at the National Theatre in Niš and the Anton Panov National Theatre in Strumica, North Macedonia. Some of his productions include: The Face, by Alexandar Galin, The Grönholm Method by Jordi Galceran, Boeing-Boeing by Marc Camoletti, and Seryozha is Very Stupid by Dmitry Danilov.

From 2006, he served as the managing director of theatres in Lovech and Pleven (Bulgaria) for two consecutive terms, during which he successfully transformed them into active institutional theatres and through his work brought them to the international stage. From 2013 to 2014, he held the position of Deputy Minister of Culture.

As of April 2022, Vasil Vasilev has been serving as the Managing Director of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre in Sofia.

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

A person’s life journey and the marks they leave on others, their constant pursuit of self-improvement, give them the opportunity to rise freely and destroy all the delusions that time brings. This is my Don Juan – the one who can transcend himself and no longer be Don Juan.