The Peach Thief

“There is nothing more oppressive than the repetition of the past,” says Emiliyan Stanev.

Two eras alternate, separated by decades yet closely connected by the suffering caused by war, epidemic, drought, and poverty.

In a world steeped in cruelty, madness, and disease, a beautiful, timeless, all-consuming love is born. Arising from the natural human longing for happiness and freedom, and from the desire to find meaning in the absurdity of everyday life, this love is ultimately destroyed amid the chaos of war and epidemic — at a time when compassion seems to have vanished from the face of the earth.

Emiliyan Stanev’s novella The Peach Thief, remarkable for its psychological insight, poetic quality, and emotional depth, forms the basis of this stage production.

The characters in this tragic and deeply emotional love story — Elisaveta, Ivo Obretenović, the Colonel, the Teacher, the Orderly, and the Mother — reveal a world in which love, although secret and forbidden, is the only force capable of giving meaning to suffering, reviving hope, and elevating the human spirit.