site.btaPresident Radev Meets with National Theatre Representatives

"Institutions should be partners of artists and preserve their dignity so that artists feel supported and have the freedom and peace of mind to work," President Rumen Radev said during a meeting with representatives of the troupe of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, the President's press secretariat said on Friday. "It is good that despite the problems, the cast of the National Theatre is united and receives the recognition of the audience," the head of State added.

The meeting between the President and part of the National Theatre's cast was occasioned by allegedly political appointments to key positions at the cultural institution, which caused discontent in part of the creative team. In November, caretaker Culture Minister Velislav Minekov said in a television interview that he would launch a financial audit at the theatre and look into the appointments. On November 24, the director of the National Theatre, Vasil Vasilev, was heard by the parliamentary committee on culture and media.

At the meeting with the President, the artists said that the National Theatre should not become a hostage of political ambitions. They described as "unacceptable" the political interference in recent weeks in the work of the theatre and expressed their support for its director Vasil Vasilev. The artists also stressed that their open letters to the media and institutions express the determination of the majority of the theatre's team to defend the reputation of the troupe and the cultural institution.

According to the artists, everyone has the right to their political convictions, but politics has a place only on the stage of the theatre, not behind the scenes. The actors urged for the restoration of normalcy at the theatre by putting an end to all speculation and political interference.

On December 1, theatre artists sent an open letter to the media expressing their support for the director of the institution. On the same day, Culture Minister Minekov told a press conference that there were grounds for Vasilev’s dismissal, but added that he would wait for the results of the checks.