The voice  gives away the thoughts; sometimes gets ahead of the  mind but it also expresses our strongest emotions- it is our biggest enemy and our best friend. No matter if the voice is deep, squeaky, quiet or powerful, it tells its own story, which is absolutely unique. In the everyday chaos  of a hundred voices that can be heard, it is rare to  discern one to lead us and we almost never go beyond the surface of another’s story. However, one thing is sure – there is one person in everyone’s life,  whose voice echoes in his mind and sometimes is much stronger than his own. That is how I started to hear Gelsomino’s voice much better than my own, while he tried to  suppress it. His unmatched  high-piched voice can shake the air, break windows and make fruits fall from trees; it can bring chalk drawings to life,  and last but not least, it can tell stories so powerfully  that a full hall of people can hear them. That is how Gelsomino in the Country of Liars emerged in the Stara Zagora State Puppet Theatrelast season (directed by Elitza Petkova; scenographers are the quite well-known Ivaylo Nikolov and Iva Gikova). And when it comes to Gianni Rodari, fantasy is set loose and everyone wishes to be a child again, to run and jump and scream… to believe in miracles and in the unexplainable. Almost dreamlike the play seizes the spectator and leads him trough the action and before realizing it, you already are in the Country of Liars. Everything there is upside down – cats bark, bread is called ink and can be bought at the stationer’s, truth is punished  by prison. Ivaylo Nikolov and Iva Gikova’s scenographic visions always  stir the imagination. Their  decisions  swing the  audience  from dream back to reality. The dominant gray colour  creates the idea of a prison, while the colourful characters, who look just like a circus troupe, lead you in another illusory reality where nothing is impossible, even  for the good painter to  bring his paintings to life.

When I watch Gelsomino in the Country of Liars, I believe in miracles and all  the childhood fairytales become alive in front of me  as Elitza Petkova’s play manages to carry the spectator in that other world, where imagination becomes reality. Gelsomino is a sad puppet, rejected because of its weirdness, because of its unusually  high-pitched voice, which  is namely the one ready to  rebel and show what  it is capable of. It is no accident that I say so, because in Elitza Petkova’s version Gelsomino is a one meter tall puppet with  bright sadness in his eyes, a twisted nose, while his own Voice (Kiril Antonov) stands in front of him as a human being – strong and firm, ready to destroy everything on  its way, only to be heard. Here in this story puppet and live actor meet in order to find a way back to themselves, to make peace and became one eventually. Yes, it is a play about inner rebellion which doesn’t only change your own “I” but also everything around you. This is a play about reaching inner peace despite all defects. Without any hesitation I would say that Gelsomino in the Country of Liars is not a children’s play, neither an adult one nor a teenage one. Everybody could find something for themselves in it. It is quality puppet theatre, built upon a lot of elements – animation, unusual puppets, beautiful music (which I just can’t get off of my mind!), high quality direction with a valid message and of course a solid  mouthpiece – the Stara Zagora State Puppet Theatre’s actors. Everything described so far is Gelsomino, part-by-part, word-by-word, just the way it is – a child who  overcomes himself in order to grow up.

Translated by Guergana Ivanova