Bühne Magazin - “It's a warning signal for the rest of Europe"
"It's a warning signal for the rest of Europe": Dávid Paška on the dismissal of Matej Drlička
"Perhaps this interview will be the reason why I am blacklisted by the new state-affiliated directorate," says Dávid Paška. However, this does not stop the Bratislava-born director and author from speaking openly about the Slovak government's interference in the country's artistic and cultural landscape. Quite the opposite. We spoke to him on the phone.
BÜHNE: How did you feel when you heard about Matej Drlička's dismissal?
Dávid Paška: Though I initially perceived the situation mainly from abroad, I was shocked when I learned about it from an article on social media. Anger and confusion followed, and even after trying to understand the Ministry of Culture's decision rationally, I could not accept the way and the contradictory reasons for Matej Drlička's dismissal. In Slovakia it is common for newly elected governments to replace the directors of state institutions, but an ideological replacement in order to control the cultural sector is unacceptable. The dismissal of other directors and commission members, including the dismissal of the director of the Slovak National Gallery, Alexandra Kusá, the day after the dismissal of Matej Drlička, has strengthened my position.
Could you briefly describe what happened before that? To what extent did the Slovakian government, especially the SNS, interfere in Slovakia's cultural life before that?
Unfortunately, as many (already dismissed) cultural workers say, this situation was foreseeable - not in this arrogant and aggressive form, of course. But the current Slovak government, and especially the Slovak National Party (SNS), has been interfering in culture and art from the very beginning - since the party was given the Ministry of Culture. The most conspicuous of these was the dissolution of the Slovak Public Television and Radio (RTVS), i.e. the dismissal of its directors and the targeted replacement of politically inconvenient employees. This was a radical intervention in the independence of public media institutions. The subsequent dismissal of the directors of the Slovak National Library and the International Children's Art House Bibiana was a warning that the representatives of this ministry and the SNS in general will stop at nothing. They are setting up ethical and ideological commissions and making it difficult and impossible for the Fund for the Support of the Arts, which supports independent and regionally established projects, to work freely and professionally. Their plan - and this really sounds anachronistically totalitarian - is to create a dramaturgical plan for the development of Slovak culture. Their plan is also to decimate and stagnate all institutions over which they have influence. The government coalition and especially Prime Minister Fico agree and support this.
What understanding of culture and theatre does the government want and to what extent does this idea contradict basic democratic values?
Their slogans and visions are strikingly similar to those of many right-wing (and far-right) political voices and parties in Europe. They proclaim a kind of nostalgia for a past that never was - a return to the national, the beautiful, the normal. This argument of "normality" appears everywhere in Europe, but its real meaning, even in this specific context, is basically the suppression of the representatives and issues of national, sexual and ethnic minorities from the cultural discourse. It is an ideological agitation against the issues of the LGBTQIA+ community, against the processes of reflection on green politics in the artistic space, and ultimately against any political engagement with the means of art in state-subsidized institutions as well as in the independent performing arts community. They want national kitsch and a return to regional classics, as well as apolitical and pseudo-Christian folk hymns that repress the outside world. If they have their way, this will create a heteronormative, nationalist-Christian majority. Everything else is - in their eyes and in their already fascist connotations - perverse and twisted. The fact that they are replacing the heads of the institutions with completely incompetent, obedient acquaintances, friends and Internet experts goes hand in hand with their ideology, of course.
It was repeatedly claimed that Matej Drlička had acted "too politically". What is behind this argument?
I was invited to the National Theatre to create a production for the upcoming 24/25 season. I don't know Matej Drlička personally and I don't know anything about his political views. In my opinion, he wasn't political enough, which I think he admitted himself afterwards. I really can't imagine how the work of a director general can be "too political" or, more precisely, "politically agitating". In my opinion, he made the National Theatre more visible to the international cultural community and helped to create interesting integrative projects for marginalized groups and minorities. Important pillars of this program included activities for children and young people, giving them the opportunity to get to know theatre without being afraid of it and not seeing it as something snobbish or intimidating. On important days commemorating the suffering of various minorities in Slovakia, the flags of the social minorities flew in front of the theatre along with the Slovak and European flags. If such work is labelled "too political" for the public, then I fear that all these efforts for inclusive social activities will soon no longer be part of the National Theatre's program. If it is true that under his leadership the theatre has finally begun to openly address the issues of LGBTQIA+ and racism, then again this is not an argument that can be used to support his dismissal. Because as far as I know, the dramaturgy of the drama department (as well as the other departments of the theatre) is not dependent on the political views of the general director - at least not yet. So, he can't be blamed for the natural development of the thematic diversity of the theatre.
What could this dismissal - like the steps and dismissals before it - mean for the rest of Europe?
On the one hand, this means that the rest of Europe and the international cultural landscape should do what they have already started to do: Talk openly about the situation in Slovakia, publicize it in the media, and express support for the Slovak cultural community and its representatives. I (and many others) am very grateful for this support. I am very moved by what is happening now. However, I fear that these and other dismissals are only the beginning. There is a battle going on in society as a whole for the freedom of artistic expression. Many public officials, but especially artists, are being blackmailed, forced into financial hardship, and even pushed out of the professional theatre landscape if they do not cooperate with the ideology of the Slovak National Party and the Ministry of Culture, or simply express a "different" critical opinion. Please keep an eye on these events, many of these artists will eventually need some form of support or even refuge.
On the other hand, it is also an important warning signal for the rest of Europe: Slovakia is falling into the Orbán model of cultural policy. I have already observed these tendencies to restrict freedom of art and expression in the programs of right-wing parties in German-speaking countries. The rise of the FPÖ in Austria and the AfD in Germany means that a similar situation could arise in the German-speaking theatre world in the near future. It seems unlikely, and it doesn't seem like it will happen so soon. But that's what we thought in Slovakia, too. But these parties are neither original nor creative. They copy each other and learn from models like Slovakia today. The artistic community and institutions have to intervene as soon as possible, they have to be prepared and take clear positions in advance. In Slovakia, the SNS received only 5.62 percent of the votes in last year's parliamentary elections, but it uses its power on all levels and decimates everything that has been created so far.
In addition, the demonization of representatives of the artistic community and the incitement against them by the Ministry of Culture, namely by Minister Šimkovičová and her Secretary General Machala, is already interfering with and threatening the private lives of artists and civil servants. In her statements via Telegram, which are addressed to her (often far-right) supporters, Minister Šimkovičová attacks artists by name, in the most recent case also actors and especially female ensemble members of the Slovak National Theatre. This puts them in physical danger. This is no longer just ideological intimidation, but direct aggression. You can feel it even on the streets of Bratislava. A few days ago, I was in a café there talking to a dramaturg about one of my theatre projects. There were groups of men sitting at the tables next to us who kept staring at us, shaking their heads, making hateful remarks about art and artists, and repeatedly pushing us as they walked by. And all because we were talking about theatre as theatrepeople. I'm very afraid that this is just the beginning and that it won't stop at passive aggression.
"TATARKA", your production, which should have its world premiere on November 2nd at the Slovak National Theatre, basically deals with the very topics we are talking about right now. Was it surprising how quickly the play evolved from a "warning" to an actual critique of the Slovakian government's political actions?
To be honest, I was disappointed. I was expecting a political dialogue on a much higher level. The "TATARKA" project is based on the literary work of Dominik Tatarka, one of the most important Slovak writers of the second half of the twentieth century. After the occupation in 1968, Dominik Tatarka was persecuted for his political views and disagreement with the pro-state, pro-party and pro-Soviet ideology, banned from writing and under constant surveillance by the state secret service until his death in May 1989, just a few months before the Velvet Revolution and the fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. This production would also be the first performance of his work on a professional theatre stage.
The project actively deals with the issues of normalization, censorship, Russophilia and interference of the ruling party in culture. It works with the themes of collaboration, the arrogance of officials, and the suppression of citizens' basic rights. I didn't expect that the themes, which were supposed to be a warning or a "demystification of the socialist idyll", would become themes that directly comment and actively criticize the current political events in Slovakia. It is humanly sad, but artistically extremely exciting. It is something very current, very burning and immediate.
Will you and your team be able to start working on it?
This is something that I and my team can really only hope for at the moment - even though all the documents have been submitted, the contracts have been signed and the cast has been finalized. We don't yet know who will take over the post of general director, how far they will interfere in the content of the projects and whether the theatre staff will go on strike. If this project is censored, hindered or even made impossible by direct interference in the sovereignty, freedom and dramaturgy of the theatre, then I must defend the integrity of my artistic work and my political convictions. In short, with the current destructive right-wing policies of the Ministry of Culture, I cannot create an "evening program" approved or allowed by them for their own representatives. I totally disagree with their regressive, even totalitarian ideas of theatre and art itself. I returned to Slovakia from the German-speaking world for a short time to connect our theatre with the whole of Europe. My upcoming works and international co-productions - if they come to realization - should be proof of this. Everything that is happening now contradicts this intention. Perhaps this interview will be the reason why I will be blacklisted by the new state-affiliated directorate.
What could this defence you're talking about look like?
There are two options. One is to continue working despite the possible censorship and try to put on a good show. But if there really is massive interference in the work, I would be more inclined to say that I can't do the premiere under those circumstances. It would be incredibly sad for everyone involved, of course, but at the same time, the production is about an author who has experienced censorship in his lifetime. It is simply unacceptable for his work to be censored again 35 years after his death. Basically, we don't know what will happen in the next two months.
Can you tell us something about the Slovak National Theatre and its work? What makes the theatre what it is and what made it special before this cut?
It is almost unbelievable how quickly the Slovak National Theatre has opened up to the world with its projects and activities. The proof is in the reactions of co-production partners and the international cultural community to the actions and statements of the government's current cultural policy. I know that new ways of connecting the branches have also been planned. In my opinion, this theatre as a multi-genre house has really succeeded in being a diverse, multi-faceted institution that represents both conservative and progressive, but always artistic positions. It has a top-class multi-generational ensemble of actors who have developed and grown with the theatre. It has also created an interest in new perspectives, new methods, and other voices in society. It was because of a production at this theatre that I decided to do theatre at the age of twelve, no matter the cost. I hope that this theatre will keep its freedom with the help of incorruptible artists. And if not, one day it will regain it with our help.
Sarah Wetzlmayr 19. August 2024