{"id":496,"date":"2020-05-06T15:30:34","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T15:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/?p=496"},"modified":"2022-02-05T13:03:19","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T13:03:19","slug":"slovakia-virtual-centenary-of-slovak-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/slovakia-virtual-centenary-of-slovak-theatre\/","title":{"rendered":"SLOVAKIA: Virtual Centenary of Slovak Theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Zuzana Ulicianska<\/strong>*<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is never a right time for a crisis. However, the pandemic hit Slovak theatre at an extremely sensitive time. On March 1, 2020, a special programme, combining opera, ballet and drama, made in honour of the centenary of Slovak Theatre, took place in the historic building of the Slovak National Theatre. In front of its new building, by the Danube river, was a special poster boasting: \u201cWe have been your mirror for a hundred years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late February there was the opening of a special exposition on the history of Slovak theatre at Bratislava Castle. It was prepared by the Theatre Institute and attended by almost 500 invited guests. All went well, but a couple of days later the entire theatre industry was forced to close. Theatre tickets were not available for the rest of the season. That was one of the extraordinary measures adopted by the outgoing Slovak government. Another one was the complete cancellation of cultural, sporting and social events. These measures, which were introduced on March 9, were, of course, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The historic building of the Slovak National Theatre. Photo: Wikipedia. Accessed May 12, 2020.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A year ago, no-one could have predicted that most of the year proclaimed by our government as the \u201cYear of Slovak Theatre\u201d (www.rokdivadla.sk<\/a>) would end up with almost no theatre activity. Moreover, the global pandemic has coincided with a time of significant political change in Slovakia. Peter Pelligrini\u2019s government, led by the leftist party SMER\u2014SD, was replaced by a  centre-right coalition headed by Igor Matovi\u010d. The new government was appointed by Zuzana \u010caputov\u00e1, President of the Slovak Republic, on Saturday, March 12. Slovakia\u2019s artistic community is now eagerly anticipating the first actions of Nat\u00e1lia Milanov\u00e1, the new Minister of Culture, believing that she will extend a helping hand in this difficult period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Theatre Institute is leading a working group set up to advise the Ministry how to help the theatre in all its forms. Both independent and state run agencies have initiated surveys addressed to individuals working in the field of culture and the creative industries, with the aim of assessing the real financial impact of the situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crisis regime has had a devastating effect on theatre artists in both the independent and public sectors, and the real consequences are yet to be seen. However, most of the theatres are trying to do work in the virtual space. Several theatres have made recordings of their productions accessible to the public online. These are free, as a compensation for the absence of live culture. One such online project is \u201cThe Slovak National Theatre at Home,\u201d which is available on the website 100.snd.sk.<\/em> and YouTube<\/em> channels www.youtube.com\/results?search_query=snd+som+doma<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slovak artists have not neglected young viewers. The internet hosts lots of readings of fairytales and \u201chomemade\u201d puppet productions. There has even been an online puppet theatre premiere, as well as rehearsals over Skype, to prevent the stagnation of productions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Artists are also showing cohesion through various support activities. Several theatres\u2019 costume workshops are sewing protective masks and offering them to thousands of health workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative Stoj\u00edme pro divadle (We Stand for Theatre) called on audience members to support cultural organisations with two percent of their taxes. It also encourages them not to ask for refunds on tickets of cancelled events, in order to minimise the financial losses of theatres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Slovak Arts Council, the grant-awarding body of the Slovak Republic\u2019s Ministry of Culture, has extended the deadlines for submitting applications for various forms of funding and has revised the conditions and deadlines for reporting on the outputs of funded activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theatre festivals planned for April through to June have been postponed. This has been the fate of Festival Nov\u00e1 dr\u00e1ma (New Drama Festival) which will now be held in May 2021; the Nu Dance Fest (postponed until August 2020); and Touches and Connections, the festival of the best Slovak productions, which is held in the central Slovakian town of Martin and normally takes place at the end of June, but is currently considering dates in November. The only festivals that hope to go ahead as planned are Theatre Nitra (the biggest international theatre festival, which is due to take place at the end of September) and Bratislava in Movement (the October dance festival).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the biggest international event planned within the framework of the Year of Slovak Culture\u2014the IATC\u2019s 30th International Congress of Theatre Critics (which should have taken place in Bratislava at the same time as the Nov\u00e1 dr\u00e1ma\/New Drama festival)\u2014has also been postponed until next year. We all hope to host our foreign guests in May 2021. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

*<\/a>Zuzana Ulicianska<\/strong>, Theatre Professor and critic, member of IATC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copyright \u00a9<\/strong> 2020 Zuzana Ulicianska
Critical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques<\/em> e-ISSN: 2409-7411<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Creative<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This work is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution International License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-covid"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/flag-svk-400.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":515,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/latvia-all-the-worlds-a-screen\/","url_meta":{"origin":496,"position":0},"title":"LATVIA: All the World\u2019s a Screen","author":"Zuzana Ulicianska","date":"May 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Lauma Mell\u0113na-Bartkevi\u010da* The year 2020 is probably the strangest year in the world of the performing arts in our (young) century. The Covid-19 pandemic and the related social distancing requirements closed all theatres and forced everyone to move to digital platforms. 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What they share is not only an elementary reliance on sound and presence; they share the same\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Topic"","block_context":{"text":"Special Topic","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/special-topic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/06\/Octavian-Saiu.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":804,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/interaction-between-music-and-theatre-in-identity-processes-croatian-example\/","url_meta":{"origin":496,"position":2},"title":"Interaction Between Music and Theatre in Identity Processes: Croatian Example","author":"Zuzana Ulicianska","date":"June 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Iva Hraste-So\u010do* Abstract This paper seeks to explore the interaction of music and theatre, especially in the form of musical theatre, and how that interaction contributes to the processes of shaping the identity of a nation. To substantiate its thesis, the paper uses the example of creation of the Croatian\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Topic"","block_context":{"text":"Special Topic","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/special-topic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/06\/image6-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/06\/image6-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/06\/image6-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/06\/image6-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":421,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/japan\/","url_meta":{"origin":496,"position":3},"title":"JAPAN: Theatre is Life","author":"Zuzana Ulicianska","date":"May 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Ken\u2019ichi Yamamoto* As in many other parts of the world, theatre in Japan has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, not because the artists and technicians have contracted the virus, but because they have had to cancel performances in response to the \u201cself-restraint request\u201d by governments, both national and local,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Covid"","block_context":{"text":"Covid","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/covid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/flag-japan-400.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":875,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/a-pandemic-theatre-album-of-first-reactions-%ce%b1n-introduction\/","url_meta":{"origin":496,"position":4},"title":"A Pandemic Theatre \u201cAlbum\u201d of First Reactions: \u0391n Introduction","author":"Zuzana Ulicianska","date":"June 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Savas Patsalidis* Pandemic: from the greek words \u201c\u03c0\u03b1\u03bd=all\u201d and \u201c\u03b4\u03ae\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2=people.\u201d A disease that has spread across a large region, multiple\u00a0continents\u00a0or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of people. People talk of \u201cWar.\u201d Definitely not a Third World War but, as it turns out to be, a huge War nevertheless. This is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Covid"","block_context":{"text":"Covid","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/covid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/06\/covid-featured.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/06\/covid-featured.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/06\/covid-featured.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/06\/covid-featured.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":473,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/poland-internet-theatre-and-insufficient-state-support-for-the-artists\/","url_meta":{"origin":496,"position":5},"title":"POLAND: Internet-theatre and Insufficient State Support for the Artists","author":"Zuzana Ulicianska","date":"May 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Tomasz Mi\u0142kowski* Theatres in Poland have been closed since March 12, 2020. Likewise, cinemas, restaurants, cafes and sports facilities. The pandemic has frozen economic and social life. 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