Skopje, 22 December 2025 (MIA) — Written to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Macedonian National Theater, the multimedia play "The Sun, How Near is the Sun: Made in MNT" will premiere on Dec. 29, director Dejan Projkovski told a press conference Monday. 

Projkovski described the play as an audiovisual journey through Macedonian drama, poetry, fiction and art, translated into contemporary stage language. He felt both great responsibility and excitement, he said, because working on the MNT anniversary play meant "traveling through time and presenting to the audience everything that was important in Macedonian theater and culture in general."

The cast of 60 actors includes 40 professional actors from the MNT as well as several children actors and opera singers singing live. The play's title, "The Sun, How Near is the Sun," was the first spoken line on the MNT stage, Projkovski said.

The first MNT performance was the Alexander Korneichuk play "Platon Krechet" translated by Blazhe Koneski and directed by Dimitar Kjostarov on April 3, 1945.

"We decided this was the most apt name, because that first line opened up infinity, opened up the universe called MNT and that line leads us through the entire performance, which is a reflection of everything that MNT is," the theater director said. 

The performance, which lasts two hours and 15 minutes, features excerpts from Macedonian plays as well as references to Macedonian folk tales and poetry. Projkovski said he and his assistant Andrej Cvetanovski applied techniques by Brecht, Meyerhold and Stanislavsky to put the contents into a contemporary context.

"The most important thing is that we have made a play worthy of the MNT's 80th anniversary and of all the actors, directors and playwrights who had spent all their lives at the MNT," Projkovski said.

On behalf of the MNT actors, Sashko Kocev told the press conference that it was their honor to take part in the anniversary performance.

"The MNT is not a place that was given to you, should be given to you, or a place that you have gotten. This is a place you have fought for, dreamed of and fantasized about," Kocev said, adding that his dream to take the stage had come true 18 years ago yet he was still trying to become better at his job.

He described the anniversary play as a result of "the organized chaos and self-discipline of so many people."

Composer Goran Trajkovski wrote the music score for the play. He said it would be performed live.

The set designer is Valentin Svetozarev. The costume designer is Marija Pupuchevska. The choreographer is Olga Pango. The visual effects artist is Sergej Svetozarev.

Macedonian National Theater director Nikola Kimovski said the MNT's 80 years represented "much more than chronology." 

"They represent the stage as a space for free thought, responsibility and vision. They represent generations of artists who understood theater not as a profession, but as a life calling," he said. 

After its Dec. 29 premiere, the play will be reprised on Jan. 15 and 16. mr/