On Monday, Slovakia was shocked by the news that 5 popular actors ended up in the Slovak National Theatre – Roman Poláčik, Táňa Pauhofová, Daniel Žulčák, Martin Šalacha and Anna Magdaléna Hroboňová. The official reason for the layoffs is consolidation, but the actors say that it is not about saving money and that it is an effort to break up the ensemble, which is critical of the theater management and the Ministry of Culture. Before Christmas, Pauhof pointed out this step in an interview for .
Cuts in SND, which also affected well-known names, divided society into two camps. One defended the actors and compared the situation to communist practices, but the other did not see it the same way. Former Prime Minister Fico’s advisor also commented on the whole case Eduard Chmelár.
“When Andrej was Bagar, artistic director of SND, laid out one winged principle for employees: ‘Politics up these stairs!’ He warned the artists not to bring their political views into the theater’s activities and not to damage it. The problem with today’s young generation of actors is that most people already know them from the stands, opposition rallies and political statements rather than from theater boards. And when they finally see them in some film roles, they can’t believe their artistic statement, because every character screams political activism,” he wrote at the beginning of his comprehensive status.
According to Chmelár, the release of a well-known artist is always a sensitive matterbecause it can be easily exploited in any mode. “A real artist must think carefully about whether he wants to play his role on the stage or on the tribune, whether he wants to do art or politics and whether he is willing to reduce the quality and authority of his artistic statement by servilely serving the goals of power,” said the ex-consultant, adding that the dismissal of Pauhof and four others looks like a sensation at first glance.
“As part of the consolidation, all state institutions were ordered to save on employees. Their directors were supposed to propose who to fire themselves. Originally, the proposal for the dismissal of the old bards (Jamrich, Tarageľ, Vojtek) came from the SND Theater, who undoubtedly did a lot for Slovak culture. This is the height of disrespect for Slovak culture. Decide for yourself who you would rather see on the pavement – one of the best Slovak actors or a political activist appearing before the elections in an advertisement on PS. In the end, it was handled differently,” he revealed.
According to Chmelár, Pauhofová may feel like a victim of political persecution, but according to him, she felt too little loyalty to the SND, when she refused to act during her maternity leave, instead she filmed and even guested at the Arena Theatre. He has no doubt that he will not get lost and will not be miserable. “From this point of view, the release of the young talented actress Anna Magdaléna Hroboňová is a much greater tragedy. who is not that well known and will not have nearly as many opportunities as her more famous colleague,” he thinks.
“On days they will all get decent severance pay and they will still be playing on outside contracts in the established showsso their fees will not be affected in any way and the viewers will not be impoverished either, only the state will save on taxes. In total, 10% of employees will be laid off as part of the consolidation, but they are not being talked about, their fate is indifferent to the opposition. If it was a ‘political purge’, activists like Stanke, Fialová and the like would be the first to be fired, not young, more or less unknown actors.” concluded a one-time Fico advisor who he added that he regrets the departure of good actors, because he considers art to be useful.
