In the course of one week the valley lying between Rila, Pirin and the Rhodope Mountains will be echoing with laughter. The reason is that comedy will be the focus of the third festival The Stars of Theater underway from 24 to 30 June in the town of Razlog.

The playbill of the festival this year features productions of the Ivan Vazov National Theater, Off the Channel Small City Theater, 199 Theater and Aleko Konstantinov Theater of Satire, all of them based in Sofia.

More about the event from its manager, actress Nona Yotova:

„This year we have laid the emphasis on comedy. We have decided that against the backcloth of our world that does not tend to be very positive, the best thing we could offer people is laughter. We have selected comedies starring a few very popular actors.”

Why have you chosen Razlog to become the stage of laughter?

„The theater festival that I founded seven years ago jointly with the playwright of the National Theater Roza Radichkova, had its original venue in Bansko. In the years that followed the mayor of Bansko expropriated our festival, but fortunately, Razlog responded fast and proposed to accommodate the festival. To quote the popular saying, ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’. Things look better today, since Razlog is a bigger town providing a large audience from the region. Now there are people from Bansko who come to watch the theater shows. After all, a 6-km distance is hardly a barrier to anybody willing to enjoy theater.”

For a third year in a row, Razlog has been the festival’s venue. How has this influenced the town’s tourism industry?

„I think that the town has benefited from this festival, because in the summer, tourists are likely to come here provided there is a worthy event underway. Traditionally, in the summer, people opt for seaside holidays, so mountain resorts and towns organize various cultural events to become more appealing for tourists. And indeed, where there is a cultural event, it is so nice to get out in nature during the day, and then, at night, watch a good show or a concert. Besides, locals have told us that they only watch theater shows when the festival is on in the town.”

Earlier this month the festival At the Stackyard with Drums closed in Razlog. Its 400 participants played traditional dances including the popular chain dances. In the recent years Razlog has emerged as a destination for cultural tourism, so the town sees an increasing number of festivals such as 1000 Folk Costumes in the Same Place, Balloon Fiesta, Pirin Sings Festival of Folklore, a festival of the traditional Banitsa (cheese pastry) and others. In Razlog today, active recreation necessarily goes hand in hand with active cultural tourism.

English Daniela Konstantinova