Alexander Morfov

Alexander Morfov (Bulgarian: Александър Морфов, born 9 November 1960, in Yambol) is a Bulgarian theater and cinema director.

Morfov's father was an officer, and his mother was a teacher in Russian language and literature, music, and also a conductor of a folklore choir in Sliven. After Morfov graduated from the Mathematical high school he attended lectures for two years in the Technical University in Varna.

Morfov's theater career began in student's years, when he participated as an assistant stage director in Stoyan Alexiev's theater company. After quitting university he began working in the theater in Sliven as a stage worker and later light manager. In 1984 he was enrolled in the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts “Krastyo Sarafov” in Sofia. He graduated from the Academy with a double major in stage directing for drama and puppet theater (1990) in the class of Julia Ognyanova and cinema directing (1994) in the class of Georgi Dyulgerov.

His earliest works on a professional stage are in the Rhodope drama theater, where he was the author and director of the satire “Political cabaret” (1990). Immediately after his sophomore production he is invited to work at the Little City Theatre “Off the Channel” where he staged “Pere Ubu” by Alfred Jarry (1991), followed by “The Tempest” (1992) and “Hamlet” by Shakespeare in the “La Strada” theater.

From 1994 to 2000 he has been occupying the position Chief director at the “Ivan Vazov” National Theatre of Bulgaria. Morfov’s first shows at the National Theatre were his original version of “Don Quixote” by Cervantes and a revised version of “The Tempest”. These two gave start to a whole new process of attracting young and modern-thinking audience to the theater. With his next production – “Midsummernight’s Dream” by W. Shakespeare, Alexander Morfov became one of the most popular theater directors in Bulgaria. His original version of “The Decameron, or Passion and Blood” after Boccaccio, also bears the traits of his stylistics. “The Lower Depths” by Maxim Gorky is Morfov’s way of sharply stating his civil opinion without betraying his typical theatricality. “Exiles” (2004) after a novel by Ivan Vazov, the national poet and writer, is the logical continuation to the latter. Among others, his productions on the leading stage in the country include: “Night of Miracles” after Beckett, Mrozek and Ionesco; “Dom Juan” by Moliere; “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “Life Is Beautiful” after Nikolai Erdman’s “The Suicide”, etc. In 2000 he was appointed managing and artistic director of the “Ivan Vazov” National Theater. He was dismissed from this position following a major conflict with the Ministry of Culture in Bulgaria. All of his productions were taken off the theater’s repertory.

Since 2001 he has been successfully working in Russia. His first show – “The Tempest” in the “Komissarzhevskaya” theatre was a landmark event in St. Petersburg’s theater life and was honoured with Russia’s most prestigious award in the field of theater “The Golden Mask”. Immediately after that he was invited in Moscow, in the theater of the famous Russian actor Alexander Kalyagin, “Et cetera”, where he staged “Don Quixote” and “Pere Ubu” with Kalyagin in the leading role. Both productions were nominated for “The Golden Mask” and Alexander Kalyagin received the award for “Best Performance” for the role of pere Ubu. Between 2003 and 2006 he was appointed chief stage director in the “Komissarzhevskaya” theatre in St. Petersburg where he staged five productions and received the premium “Golden Soffit” for “Dom Juan” by Moliere and was again nominated for “The Golden Mask”. His productions “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” with Alexandr Abdulov and “The Visit of the Old Lady” with Maria Mironova in “Lenkom” theater also proved to be significant events in Moscow’s theatre life. Morfov has received more than twenty national and international theater awards, among which are “The Golden Mask”, “Chaika” [seagull], “Crystal Turandot”, etc. In 2005 he worked in the United States with Mikhail Baryshnikov on the theater project “Doctor and Patient” by Rezo Gabriadze. In 2006 he returned to the National Theatre of Bulgaria as a chief stage director – a position he has been occupying since. Morfov’s shows were presented at international theater festivals in Vienna, Casablanca, Kiev, Torun, Ohrid, Belgrade, Wrocław, Hamburg, etc. He has numerous successful projects in Europe – France, Sweden, Macedonia, Romania, Latvia, and in the recent years in Israel. He is currently working at the "Ion Luca Caragiale" National Theatre, Bucharest, Romania, staging "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare.

Morfov is also a cinema director and scriptwriter. He is as successful as a cinema actor with roles in “Ivan and Alexandra”, “Friends of Emily”, “The Last Sunday”, “The Goat Horn”, “The Love Summer of a Schlep”, “Travel to Jerusalem” and others. He is married to the actress Reni Vrangova with whom he has two daughters – Neda and Sara.

TV FILMS:

• 1994–2000 CINEMA KINGS, scriptwriter and director (Bulgarian National Television)
• 1997 NIGHT OF MIRACLES, scriptwriter and director (BNT)
• 2009 EXILES, TV series, scriptwriter and director (BNT)

CINEMA:

• 2001 BLUEBERRY HILL, Cia Advertising and BNT;

From the Society of theatre critics in Bulgaria:

• 1994 Best stage director and Best production for “Don Quixote”
• 1995 Best stage director and Best production for “Midsummernight’s Dream”
• 2004 Best production for “Exiles”
• 2007 Best production for “Dom Juan”

From Ohrid theatre festival:

• 1992 First prize for the production “The Tempest”

“Askeer” theatre award in Bulgaria:

• 1994 Best stage director and Best production for “Don Quixote”
• 1997 Best stage director and Best production for “The Lower Depths”
• 2004 Best stage director and Best production for “Exiles”
• 2007 Best stage director and Best production for “Dom Juan”

“Icarus” theatre award given by the Bulgarian Actors’ Union

• 1997 Best stage director and Best production for “The Lower Depths”
• 2004 Best stage director and Best production for “Exiles”
• 2007 Best stage director and Best production for “Dom Juan”

“The Golden Muse” Russian award

• 2000 Special prize for the production “The Lower Depths”

“The Golden Soffit” award in St. Petersburg

• 2004 Best stage director and Best production for “Dom Juan”

“Chaika” [seagull] Russian award

• 2006 Best production for “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “Lenkom” theatre, Moscow

“Crystal Turandot” Russian award

• 2006 Best production for “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “Lenkom” theatre, Moscow

National Festival for TV and Cinema, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

• 2001 Best director for the cinema production “Blueberry Hill”
• 2009 Special prize of the jury for the cinema production “Exiles”

Bulgarian cinema award: 2002 Best directing debut for the production “Blueberry Hill”

Bulgarian Cinema Academy: 2009 Best cinema production “Exiles”, and many others

Nominations: “The Golden Mask” Russian award

• 2000 Best stage director for the production “The Tempest”, “Komissarzhevskaya” theatre, St. Petersburg
• 2002 Best production for “Pere Ubu”, “Et Cetera” theatre, Moscow
• 2004 Best stage director of the best production “Dom Juan”, “Komissarzhevskaya” theatre, St. Petersburg
• 2006 Best stage director of the best production “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “Lenkom” theatre, Moscow
• 2007 Audience prize for “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “Lenkom” theatre, Moscow

Theatre awards in Romania:

• 2012 Best production “The Visit of the Old Lady”, National Theatre of Romania, Bucharest

ORDER OF “ST. CYRIL AND METHODIUS”

He has received the prestigious Bulgarian award order of “St. Cyril and Methodius”, first rang, “for special merit in the field of culture and arts in Bulgaria”. Alexander Morfov is doctor honoris causa of the University of Audiovisual Arts ESRA (Paris – Skopje – New York).