Theater employees to stage protest rally in front of Gov’t offices on Sunday

Artists and actors will stage a protest rally on Sunday, in front of the Government offices, as of 18.00h, the event being announced by a group including artists Maria Obretin, Vitalie Bichir, István Téglás and dancers Ioana Marchidan and Cosmin Manolescu.

The event comes as the theaters and cultural institutions are facing financial problems due to the fund cuts operated by the Bucharest City Hall. Theater director Radu Ifrim announced on Wednesday that dozens of technicians (54 – our note) have been laid off from the National Theater in Bucharest (TNB), a theater with 6 theater rooms.

Gigel Stirbu, president of the Culture Committee with the Chamber of Deputies has reacted after the lay-offs. “When it does not bring electoral benefits, the culture is thrown to the waste bin by PSD,” he said.

TNB Manager General Ion Caramitru says that, in 2019, the budget for goods and services is down by RON 2 million. “Independent actors are begging for their legal rights in order to get paid for their work and tell the media they receive no reply from the authorities,” Caramitru says.

“Bankruptcy is related to the poor administration of the entire Romanian financial system. It is an obvious bankruptcy,” Caramitru added.

At the end of a TNB show, the actors wearing white armlets as protest, told the spectators that fifty people have been laid off. “If someone with the Culture Ministry, or others hear us, we ask you to unblock the job positions of these people,” actor Marius Manole said.

Actress Dorina Chiriac wrote on Facebook: “What is going on now is not massive lay-off, but destabilization. It is about 54 technicians with TNB and 31 technicians with ArCub. Hundreds of actors and collaborators haven’t been paid for months in all theaters. Theaters are bankrupt. The projects are frozen. All these issues show that lives are in danger,” the actress wrote.

actorsartistsbankruptcydorina chiriacGigel ?tirbuIon Caramitrumarius manolenational theaterprotest rallypsdradu ifrimTNBwhite armlets
Comments (0)
Add Comment