MEMORIAM: Tamás Koltai Passes

Tamás Koltai

The Hungarian Theatre Critics' Association reports that the widely respected Hungarian critic, Tamás Koltai, died suddenly July 19, at the age of 73. Koltai had a 50-year career as a critic, serving as editor-in-chief of the theatre magazine Színház and as a columnist at Élet és irodalom. He published more than two dozen books of criticism and was the former head of Hungarian association. His colleagues in hungary tell us that his "unique ethos and passion for theatre" made him "one of the greatest critics of Hungarian theatre." The American section sends its condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues. 

HUNGARY: Arts Crisis Continues

This video may be "read" in English

through YouTube's caption function.

Colleagues in Hungary tell a story of funding cuts to independent companies in Hungary due to budgetary maneuvers and bureaucratic delays. At this point, the FESZ Secretariat says, it appears there will be no funding in 2012, which has led to the suspension of work by companies such as Pintér Béla Company, Krétakör, and Sputnyik under the direction of Viktor Bodó. FESZ is an acronym for an independent theatre association. A video released on YouTube by the FESZ Secretariat recounts the difficulties of companies and the impact on individual artists. Spoken in Hungarian, the video has captions available through YouTube's caption service.

Readers of this site may recall postings from 2010 that addressed the ongoing crisis in Hungarian theatre. The press release from FESZ is reprinted below, in shortened form. Szilvia Nagy may be contacted for more information at fesz2012@gmail.com.

BLEEDING INDEPENDENT THEATRES

DRY IN HUNGARY

The Hungarian independent performers’ scene has been facing serious hardships every year as subsidies received from the state have been erratic or delayed.

Organizations still waiting for subsidies for 2012 had to face the fact that cuts announced by the Hungarian Department of Economics on October 5 also endanger their regular yearly support.

On November 8, the official government website announced that there would be further cuts from the already adjudged (and already decreased) operational subsidies.

Up to this date, the companies concerned still have not received any official declaration on the rate of these cuts. A short announcement let independent performers know that this rate would be even higher than the one mentioned on the government’s website: instead of by one third, support will be cut by 36.51 percent.

By now, most of the independent companies are on the verge of not being to function any further: according to FESZ’s (Association of Independent Theatres) survey, almost half (45 percent) of the organizations waiting for support have no reserves. If subsidies are not awarded by the end of the year, the proportion of independent companies without reserves will grow to 90 percent. One third (32%) of the companies have already had to take out loans in order to be able to carry on with their operations.

The Hungarian government’s unlawful course of action, through the delays and cuts in funding, one-sidedly impairs the freedom of artistic expression and also violates citizens’ constitutional right to self-education, access to culture, and the possibility to choose from a palette of different cultural products and experiences.

In our grave situation, we ask for the solidarity of the international public. Publish and broadcast it through your media, let your audiences know, that post-Soviet Hungary’s most lively and progressive artists, who have therefore also been the most ardent supporters of a democratic value system, are forced to discontinue their operations from January 2013.

OPEN LETTER: Oppression of International Artists

From Association internationale des critiques de théâtre / International Association of Theatre Critics (AICT-IATC)

AN OPEN LETTER ON THE OPPRESSION OF INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS

In the wake of governmental repression of theater artists in Hungary and, more recently, in Belarus, the International Association of Theatre Critics (AICT-IATC) adds its voice to the global chorus calling for greater freedom on the pages of publications and on the stages of oppressed theatre companies.

As a non-profit, Non-Govermental Organization recognized under Statute B of UNESCO, the purpose of the IATC is to promote international cooperation through international engagement and advocacy for building bridges among cultures. In the recent repression and imprisonment of theatre artists, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko gives credence to critics who have called Belarus “the last true remaining dictatorship in the heart of Europe.” According to the New York Times, the deeply contentious election of December 19, 2010, after which Lukashenko claimed to have received 79 percent of the vote, led to the leader's announcement that more than 600 “bandits and saboteurs,” including several of his opponents, had been arrested.

The leadership of the IATC is deeply disturbed by the rising international tide of oppression of the arts and literature, especially of theatres and theatre artists. We deplore the conviction and brief imprisonment of Belarus Free Theatre's company manager Artiom Zhelezniak on charges of "illegal assembly." We celebrate the departure from Belarus of company members Nikolai Khalezin, Natalia Kolyada and others, who have been recognized internationally and were honored with a "Special Mention" by the Europe Theatre Prize.

Members of the IATC are theatre critics, but we are also theatre advocates and we will resist all governmental attempts to censor or otherwise marginalize the important work of our global theatre artists. When some artists and writers are not free to think, work, and create in an unrestricted manner, we all suffer a loss of freedom and of human possibility.

We call on all who love freedom—artists, audience members, governments—to rally against these specific oppressions, to agitate for greater creative freedom, and to join our voices in support of those who cannot, or may not, speak for themselves. We encourage our members to shine a bright light on these events and to keep these matters in the forefront of our global artistic discourse.

If we join together in this struggle, we shall prevail.

Sincerely,

Yun-Cheol Kim, President (Korea)
Michel Vaïs, Secretary General (Canada)

International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC)

Association internationale des critiques de théâtre (AICT)

LETTER: Response to Hungary Media Law

Andrea Tompa, President
Hungarian Section
International Association of Theatre Critics

Dear Andrea,

The International Association of Theatre Critics fully supports your section’s fight for freedom of expression in theatre and arts. The new media law of your government is dangerous, anti-cultural and anti-intellectual, which obviously attempts to go back to that archaic practice of censorship.

Theatre has always reflected human societies and one of its essential functions is to criticize social complacency to better recognize and understand the world and the humanity. IATC deplores strongly any governmental attempts to control the arts, culture and media, whose critical performance has become even more important in this 21st century of globalized culture.

It is a great pity that such a culturally advanced country like Hungary is trying to implement its control over the arts, artists, and the media. IATC strongly demands that the Hungarian parliament and government withdraw this shameful media law and guarantee its artists freedom and independence.

Otherwise, we will make this issue big and global so that the world may know the danger and corruption in this new media law and its implementation in the form of replacing legally appointed, competent and ambitious artists with docile figures.

Sincerely,
Yun-Cheol Kim
President, International Association of Theatre Critics
Dean, School of Drama, Korea National University of Arts

REPORT: Arts Freedom Under Threat in Hungary

From the HUNGARIAN THEATRE CRITICS ASSOCIATION, a section of AICT-IATC, forwarded to the United States section by Secretary General Michel Vaïs


Róbert Alföldi

A highly-contested and controversial “media law” of the present government promises serious control over the whole media, including blogs. The new Media authority—formed by members of the ruling party—will have the entitlement to control and punish. This week, independent cultural papers and sites are published with a blank cover page as a protest sign against this control.

Governmental attacks on the National Theatre and its artistic director, Róbert Alföldi, were only rumors until the “case” was recently discussed on the floor of Parliament. Members of Parliament described Alföldi as deviant, rowdy, and treasonous, and called the present National Theatre dangerous and mischievous. They are calling the work presented in the National Theatre obscene, pornographic, anti-national, and anti-Hungarian, and are demanding the expulsion of director Alföldi from the National. The Secretary of the Ministry of National Resources commented: “Everything will happen in due time.”



On December 1, one of the parties of Parliament, Jobbik, organized a demonstration next to the National Theatre’s building with the sole purpose of replacing the director. Artists, writers, critics, and theatre goers—organized by a Facebook group—also gathered in front of the National marking their sympathy for this theatre and artistic freedom. Since the beginning of Alföldi’s tenure in July 2009, the National Theatre has prospered and undergone an artistic rebirth. The director was awarded the precious Critics’ Prize in September 2010 for “renewing the National Theatre.” He also received a similar prize from the City Council of Budapest. Many works presented in the theatre received international critical acclaim were invited to international festivals.

Alföldi’s contract does not expire until June 30, 2013. His dismissal would mean the termination of this contract without any legal base, and this, consequently, could create a dangerous precedent: from that time on the leader of any cultural institute could be dismissed based on the aesthetic ideal of a given political party.



Another major cultural institution in the country, the Opera House of Budapest—the best financed institution—is also undergoing difficult times. The artistic director of the Opera, Balázs Kovalik, an internationally celebrated director, was dismissed this past summer. There is still no appointed general director to take his place.

Because appointments of theatre directors in the provinces are made directly by the local governments, decisions were often based on political sympathies for the ruling political party. This has been always the same, indifferent of political climate. The process has a legal face and an illusory professional basis, because seemingly directors’ applications and eventual appointments are based on competition. There is a board of professionals who evaluates the applications and makes recommendations to the local government. But this board is either formed of people with a particular political view who are certain to make the “right” decision, or it is an indeed free board whose proposal is not taken into consideration. This situation was recently repeated when the new artistic director was named to the theatre in Tatabánya, and a fine previous leadership was replaced.

The independent theatres in Hungary are most vulnerable in this current climate. This is the field that is most mobile, young, and willing to take artistic risks; this is the field that contains all dance companies, and most of the production houses and freelance artists. It has been only one year since the so-called theatre law, which guarantees for the first time that a minimum 10% of the total budget for the national theatre subsidy goes to independents, came to operate. One of the new cultural leadership’s first actions was to cut this subsidy, although it is such a microscopic part of the whole budget.

The theatre law will undergo a serious rework in the spring 2011, and there is little hope that the 10 percent for independents will be maintained. We are addressing you, the international theatre and media community, because we want to preserve the freedom of artistic expression and speech we gained 20 years ago after the social changes.