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Sashka Bratanova: Being on stage - that's what I do, what I love and what makes me happy

БНР Новини
Sashka Bratanova in the show We, You and Me at The Art Foundation theater

"We, you and I" is a solo performance based on poems by Miryana Basheva and music by Stefan Dimitrov. Verses and music are skilfully interwoven in the plot of the play that actress Sashka Bratanova defines as music and poetry show. Here's one of the songs that the actress performs in it  – “Neka da e lyato" (Let it be summer)



The special feature of this performance is that the works of Miryana Basheva were selected in such a way in order to convey the basic idea, Sashka Bratanova says and adds:

The show is based on poems dedicated to the woman, the woman who is forced to cope alone. She is surrounded by men, but they do not see her as a woman. She goes through different experiences, discussions about relationships, conflicts, struggles. I like the show because it is not served as a romantic story but is often very humorous.  I feel it close to me and other women. The title is taken from the poem "We, you and I". All this with the beautiful music by Stefan Dimitrov touches the audience. Songs I perform are very famous; most of them are by Bogdana Karadocheva. There are songs by Yordanka Hristova and other famous names. But I sing them in my own way and it gives me great pleasure. Perhaps this made Svetla Dionisieva, head of the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in London to invite me. The performance was aimed at the Bulgarian audience and received very good reviews. We must say that this show was created 15 years ago, along with Pepa Nikolova. We are very different and we relied on that. We used to perform verses that are well suited to the temperament of each of us. When she passed away, I found no one to replace her but after a long break I decided to do a one-man show.”



“She is dancing without much dance, singing without much singing… She has always been like this and that is why the audience loves her. She slips out of professional generalizations and is elusive. She does not want to be beautiful, but she is. She does not want to be young but she always looks young. She does not want to stun us but we are unable to take our eyes off her,” theatre critic, and editor of the Theatre magazine Keva Apostolova wrote. And this is a small part of the wonderful words spoken and written about the actress. Most Bulgarians remember Sashka Bratanova as one of the main characters in “Momcheto si Otiva” as well as her roles in dozens of films created between the 70s and 90s. In more modern times we find her name in small roles in Bulgarian and foreign productions. Perhaps the most famous among them is Vitka - housekeeper and assistant of Vanga in the series "Vangelia" co-production of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine dedicated to the Bulgarian prophetess. Since the past year she has been focused entirely on ​​"We, you and I." I missed this show, because it sounds modern, I was missing the stage. I realized that this is what I want to do, what I can do and what makes me happy.

Music and theatre have been part of the actress’ life since her childhood in Svishtov, where she was born.

“My mother and my father were involved in music in various forms, Sashka Bratanova says. My brightest memory is the "Merry Widow" operetta performed in the "Elenka and Kiril D. Avramovi" community center in Svishtov. My mother played the lead role, my father conducted the orchestra, and I was in the audience. I've always been a big fan of operetta and when we moved in Sofia, my mother continued to sing in amateur operetta, and I was in the choir. My father was conductor of military orchestras in Svishtov, Razgrad, and Vratsa. In Sofia he was one of the conductors of the Central Guard military orchestra. I was used to music all around me. Although my voice is not like my mother’s, I love to sing. I have several theatre projects and I hope to accomplish them with the help of The Art Foundation - a new cultural space in Sofia."

English: Alexander Markov




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