Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová (SNS nominee). (source: TASR)
Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová, a nominee of the far-right Slovak National PartySNS, accused theatre actors of taking part in foreign activities aiming to overthrow the current government. Taking to social media, she specifically mentioned actors of the Slovak National Theatre who read statements to the audience and criticise, for example, purges in cultural institutions as well as threats to people in culture.
"They proceed to stand on the stage of the National Theatre and for months bother the audience with their outbursts. Actually, the outburst are not their own; they were written by NGO activists. They serve aliens, read whatever is handed to them, and in doing so, they pretend to be free and with their own opinions and attitudes," Šimkovičová said in a post on Telegram, adding that they talk of censorship, end of democracy, and that they are unable to accept the results of the 2023 elections.
Šimkovičová went on to claim that what these actors do is "part of several concerted efforts supervised from abroad" the goal of which is to "overthrow the current government".
Actors to minister: Prove it
Actors from the Slovak National Theatre's drama ensemble have strongly denied claims made by Minister Šimkovičová that their declarations are part of coordinated activities directed from abroad, reports Sme.
"Our statement was not prompted by any NGO, as suggested on social media, nor was it written by activists. It was authored by us, and it did not originate abroad," said representatives of the ensemble at a press briefing on November 23. Among those present were actors Tomáš Maštalír, Robert Roth, Alexander Bárta, Martin Poliačik, and Milan Ondrík, as well as actresses Anežka Petrová, Rebeka Poláková, Diana Mórová, and Jana Kovalčiková.
"The only international collaborations we have this season are with Comédie-Française, the National Theatre of Ljubljana, the National Theatre in Prague, and Schauspielhaus Wien—productions our audiences have seen on stage," the actors stated, listing foreign ensembles that have performed at the Slovak National Theatre this season.
The platform Open Culture! (Otvorená kultúra!) and the Cultural Strike (Kultúrny štrajk) initiative have echoed these demands.
"We call on Minister Šimkovičová to stop spreading falsehoods. If she has evidence that cultural workers are being directed from abroad, she must present it to the public," the activists stated in their appeal.
Purges
Last year, the minister dismissed several head of cultural institutions, including Matej Drlička from the Slovak National Theatre (SND) as well as Alexandra Kusá from the Slovak National Gallery (SNG). The latter has the third acting director in less than half a year. Several heads of departments have already filed resignations in protest against the changes in SNG.
Not long ago, three foreign institutions from Germany and Austria ceased cooperation with SNG over fears of mishandling of lent artifacts. A planned joint exhibition will also be cancelled.
