About Yasmin Mandelli
Yasmin Mandelli is an italian-bulgarian set and costume designer working in the fields of drama, film, and puppet theatre.
Born in Sofia in 1994, she lives between Bulgaria and Italy in a family of artists and fashion professionals.
After studying at the Liceo Italiano and the University of Milan, she graduated in Stage and Screen Design from the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA) in 2020.
In 2025, she became an assistant lecturer at NATFA, and from 2022 till now she is the lead set and costume designer at the “Ivan Radoev” Drama–Puppet Theatre in Pleven.
She has more than 25 projects in the drama and puppet theatres in Sofia and other cities in Bulgaria.
Nominated for scenography at the Icarus Award 2025.
"Ploshtad Slaveykov"
(Cultural media platform)
It is difficult to describe the emotion that transforms the audience into a unified body during the performance. The small hall, the lack of distance between the actors and the audience, the piercing eyes of Nevena Kaludova, who, at that moment, is no longer Nevena but Anna... The gun aimed at the audience's head from the first row. The Kalashnikov rifle carried by Vladimir Solakov, in one of its many exaggerations, walks between the rows like a horrifying reenactment of a terrorist act during the musical “Nord-Ost,” one of the most terrifying events in human history.
And all of this is dominated by the giant head on the small stage – a head that simultaneously resembles the face of Putin and all the dictators of the world. An exceptional work by the set designer Yasmin Mandelli.
For "Anna - the Irredeemable" nominated for ''Cultural Event of 2024''.
"24 Chasa"
(Bulgarian daily newspaper)
"Yasmin designs the costumes, lighting, set design, and even the actors’ makeup when it’s more specific. The entire visual concept of a production is her work – a very important and responsible task, as it’s the first thing the audience sees. The puppets are also created based on her ideas, and once their construction is complete, she takes over to paint them. “Every project has its own sweet challenges; I see them as opportunities,” says Yasmin."
Gergana Pirozova
(Theatrical critic)
"The exceptional set design and costumes by Yasmin Mandelli – and when I say exceptional, I’m not exaggerating. The costumes are period-accurate, set in the 18th century – the Golden Age of Pirates, which certainly helps – lavish, colorful, and true works of art, a rare gem on our stages. In one word – beauty: lace, crinolines, pirate coats, boots, buckles, sabers, and of course – pirate hats. We even have a parrot."
For the work of "Tresure Island".
