BULGARIA / 2014
Elena Alexieva – Phantom Pain
The play was proposed by Theatre and Music Centre Kardjali / Bulgaria for the ETC Drama Committee
The Armless Woman has lost both her arms in an accident. After the amputation, she lives in her modest apartment struggling to manage with her new, hopeless life. She is tended by Maria and Maria’s son, the Boy. In an attempt to kill time, the Armless Woman starts to paint with her mouth.
A stranger to art, she is aware that her paintings are weird and poor. However, her case is taken up by a TV journalist, who promotes the Woman and her art, and gradually, the Armless Woman becomes a celebrity artist. The popularity of her works grows. She is even labelled an intellectual. And yet, she cannot sleep at night due to the phantom pain which she tries to fight through painting.
Download an overview of the play and the author below, including an extract in English and the full play in the original language.
DOCUMENT AVAILABLE TO ETC MEMBERS ONLY