Women in Bulgarian (Post) Socialistic Theatre on and beyond Stage

Abstract

This paper attempts to draw a rough sketch of several major, intertwined lines of Bulgarian cultural and social history that will have a long-term effect and influence on many processes in the next few decades. As a beginning, it looks into the early phase of the establishment of state socialism in Bulgaria, focusing simultaneously on the processes taking place in the theatre system as part of the larger new political and ideological project of industrialization and modernization and the social role prescribed to it in this intensely changing social landscape. At the same time, the paper follows the parallel introduction of two somewhat contradictory new visions about women’s role in society: giving them full election rights and encouraging them to enter the labor force, while simultaneously introducing measures like the “bachelor tax”, stimulating men and women to enter marriage, creating a network of policies and notions, and encouraging women to give birth to as many children as possible and to be the main caregivers in the household. That is why the foundation of this research is precisely the paradoxical situation in which women were in the socialist theatre and outside it.