''The Roman Bath'' ( bg, Римска баня) is a 1974 absurdist play by Bulgarian playwright

Stanislav Stratiev Stanislav Stratiev (Bulgarian: Станислав Стратиев) (9 September 1941 – 20 September 2000) was a Bulgarian playwright, screenwriter, and author. Biography He began his career as a journalist while studying for an MA in literatu ...

. A very successful production was put on for well over ten years from February 11, 1974 until the early 1990s at the

Satirical Theatre The Aleko Konstantinov State Satirical Theatre ( bg, Държавен сатиричен театър „Алеко Константинов“, ''Darzhaven satirichen teatar „Aleko Konstantinov“''), commonly known as the Satirical Theatre, is ...

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, making it the longest running production in the theatre's history. In 1984, the show was awarded with "Award of Sofia", and two years later it was performed at the "Theatre of Nations" festival in

Nancy, France Nancy ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Nanzisch'' is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the northeastern Departments of France, French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which was Lorraine and Barrois, an ...

. It is cited as Stratiev's funniest work.

British production

In 2010, the play had its British premiere at the

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is an Off West End theatre in the London Borough of Hackney. It presents plays, operas and musicals featuring established and emerging artists. The theatre building, in the former Colourworks paint factory on Ashwin Street, Dalst ...

in Hackney, London. Michael Billington of ''The Guardian'' wrote: " Russell Bolam's production camouflages this through its phenomenal energy and Jean Chan's design skilfully shows the havoc created by the apartment's space invaders. Ifan Meredith's Ivan, first seen arguing with and then desperately kissing a taxi-ordering machine, also conveys the difficulty of leading a rational life in an irrational universe. And there is lively support from

Bo Poraj Bohdan "Bo" Poraj-Pstrokonski is a British-Polish actor, known for his film and television appearances, including the BBC sitcom '' Miranda''. Career Between 2012 and 2014, Poraj played the role of Mike Jackford in the BBC sitcom '' Miranda''. ...

as a manically egotistical academic,

Jonathan Rhodes Jonathan Neil "Jonty" Rhodes (born 27 July 1969) is a South African professional cricket commentator and former Test and One Day International cricketer. He is regarded as one of the greatest fielders of all time and was the first South African ...

as a buccaneering dealer in stolen goods and Rhona Croker who invests Ivan's redemptive lover with a nice sense of erotic mischief. I'm not sure how closely the play relates, as Butcher suggests, to our own mad world. But Stratiev, who died in 2000, emerges as a fascinating writer who realised that comedy is ultimately the best weapon for subverting state power".

References

Bulgarian plays 1974 plays Absurdist fiction Satirical plays {{1970s-play-stub