Slovaks have been resonating with the topic of layoffs in the Slovak National Theater (SND) for several days now. As part of the announced consolidation, they lost their permanent position in the play Martin Šalacha, Daniel Žulčák, Roman Poláčik, Anna Magdaléna Hroboňová and Táňa Pauhofová. All the artists remain in the theater, but their contracts are changing and they will now become externs, or guest actors.
Poláčik put one thing in perspective in an interview with “None of us received a notice, formally in two cases it is a departure after signing the agreement on the termination of the employment relationship. In the other two cases, it is the non-renewal of the employment contract, which was for a fixed period, and in one case it is a mother on maternity leave, whose position will disappear only after returning from maternity leave. It may be a bit bureaucratic in nature, but I wanted to explain it,” he explained.
He underlined that since SND is a state institution, it was clear that the consolidation would concern them, which no one had any problem with. “It was perfectly fine when it first came to the table. No one protested, on the contrary, they were looking for ways to do it in a way that would be in line with the needs of the ministry or the needs of the state and with where our economy is today,” the actor described.
“But it’s definitely not okay anymore the way it happened and how it happened. That’s why I’m sitting here. Not because I lost my job, but because of how we lost it and under what circumstances. Behind all this is a person who in no way gained our trust in the two years of his operation in the theater,” he added, alluding to director Zuzana Ťapáková.
He also noted that he had mixed feelings about the decision and has a very strong suspicion from the beginning that it was some kind of actor-hunting. Right after he found out, he left SND because he needed to be alone. „I spent several hours in various thoughts, asking why, how, what happened, what did I do wrong? One begins to doubt, of course, as it is not little. And now I’m not here to cry about being dumped. Not at all, this is a matter of principle. And that principle is actually catching up with me day by day,” he admits.
Subsequently, Poláčik did something, which was also pointed out by the former adviser of Prime Minister Fico Eduard Chmelár. “Undoubtedly, he made Ťapáková’s decision-making easier by throwing garbage in front of her door in a fit of emotion (there is also a camera recording of this). The actors defend his actions by saying that ‘he is so emotional’,” he wrote in connection with the case on Facebook.
In the interview, Poláčik called it a theatrical thing that he did as a reaction to the change. “Basically, I wanted to ask Ms. Ťapáková directly why. And on the way to the general directorate, I changed my mind, and when I realized that she actually had the authority to throw us out like such garbage, I threw some crumpled papers in front of her office as well.” explained the well-known actor.
Over time, he pours ashes on his head. “It seems to be very important to her now, in this discussion and in the way she operates with it. It’s inelegant, of course. To the people who work behind that door that I didn’t know about because I was never there, I didn’t need to go to the head office, I went the next working day to apologize for the mess. And it wasn’t anything extra, I say, it’s a few crumpled papers that ended up on the ground, because I understood that the words probably ran out,” he added, adding that he still doesn’t have the answer to why he is among the 5 actors.
