News

We are for the first time in a position to be able to promise firmly only one premiere to theater viewers who expect the NTB season to restart in September!

Therefore, the opening of the 2019 - 2020 TNB season will take place at the Studio Hall, with the premiere of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, directed by Alexander Morfov, with Ion Caramitru, Ada Gales, Richard Bovnoczki, Alexandru Potocean, starring and supported by a large cast. Scenery: Gabi Albu, costumes: Liliana Cenean, choreography: Inga Krasovska, light design: Chris Jaeger.   

At the limit of artistic survival due to drastic budget constraints, the IL Caragiale National Theatre, like many other cultural institutions, is bound to limit its activities for the time being, for the reasons you find explained largely by manager Ion Caramitru, in the text reproduced below:

What we are now living not only in the National Theatre, but in all the institutions that are now subordinated to the Ministry of Culture, but also in the institutions subordinated to the City Hall, is unprecedented. (...)

By law, the Romanian state budget should have appeared since November last year and voted to become operational as of 1 January 2019. In fact, it was only approved in April 2019, becoming operational only in the month of May. There have been situations of this kind, but not so serious. In order to reach the subordinated institutions, after it is assigned to the ministries, it takes a rather long time, so the zero moment, the moment when our theatre, for example, could start any activity, legally, from the point of view of the opening of funding, is the moment when the Minister approves the Minimum Programme. The Minimum Programme is a kind of sine qua non contract that allows the theatre management to do its job.

We became "operational" only in mid-May. Until that time, we had no right to spend monthly than what the law permits us, that is, the 12th part of the budget of the previous year, so a small amount! From these sums we had at our disposal, we were able to make two performances, The Door Mat by Ion Băieşu, at the Studio and Class at the Black Box Hall. Two shows with relatively small expense. (...) As of May 15th, we were free to spend, you realize that in one month we could not open up funding, make sceneries and costumes, pay copyright contracts, book the room for other large-scale performances, etc. At this time, I cannot tell you what other performances will be created this year, because I cannot tell you what the current situation is!

Until this year, NTB had an average production of eight shows per year. That means two productions in each of the four halls where we run our season, and it means a first every 6 months per hall! We could have produced more, but we did not have any funds and, more than that, we do not have enough people on stage to be able to ensure the autonomy of each scene. I have reported this to the minister, I have still sent to the ministry various documents, not a few, about this issue.

This year, in the most fortunate case, we could achieve four premieres, half of last year's production.

(...) Today we find ourselves in the totally aberrant situation in which the Ministry has dropped two million RON from the "Goods and Services" chapter and has increased our "own revenue" obligations by one million. In other words, we get less money for productions, and we are increasing the value of selling the produce that we can not actually do, or we make them half. All the monthly expenses for utilities (heat, lighting, air conditioning), for companies that provide maintenance on different areas, for security, fire, cleaning, etc. are made from the budget provided for in the Goods and Services chapter!

In addition, all our managers have conditioned the Ministry's approval of the Minimum Programme Agreement by accepting under the signature of the following clause: "The manager of the institution has drawn up the minimum programme for 2019, ensuring the institution's maintenance and operation expenses during the financial year ". Such a thing can only be signed if you have the full budget, as calculated by all expenses! But we, at this time, do not have that. However, I had to sign in order to be functional. It is a terrible interference in the labour discipline and the rights someone has, but otherwise we should have ceased production and all the managers have signed this. So after the minimum programme was drafted, after the budget was approved by the Ministry of Culture in terms of accounting, taking into account the two millions that were omitted from the budget from the Goods and Services chapter and the increase in own revenues, - signed these documents, a new provision came, this time through the Finance Ministry, a communication whereby we are informed that we have the right to spend only 30% of the approved budget!

In other words, after my calculations of "free thinking" artist, we are facing bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is related to the poor management of the entire Romanian financial system. There is a bankruptcy at sight. Although I was with the Minister together with 20 managers in the country, all the National Operas, all the National Theaters, the National History Museum, the Art Museum, Antipa, etc., with a document sent under my signature and theirs to discuss face to face of this bankruptcy which we are confronted with, we have not reached any conclusion.

The worst thing is that we now have 54 external people to the theater (because although we ask for years for positions, we do not get it), 39 of which operate the stage. Basically, without these people the theatre can not function. But these people, hired through a labour agency, cost us 24% more, each. By law, they must earn the salary of the theatre employees, plus 19% VAT and 5% the agency fee. Among them are people of exceptional quality, people working in the theatre for a while, who have specialised and if we lose them, we would only suffer. We can not find anymore theatre specialised staff. If we had jobs, I would hire them immediately. I explained to the Minister, not once, that if we were to receive posts, we would achieve a saving.

In order to be able to end the ministry talks that extended for over three hours, Mr. Minister told us to make an extra calculation of 30% of the budget we received, maybe something will succeed in the budget adjustment. I do not see any positive adjustment to the way the Romanian economy is working at this moment.

I wrote an address to the Minister of Finance and to the Prime Minister. Maybe we can meet face to face.

(Fragments reproduced from NTB Manager Ion Caramitru's presentation at the NTB staff meeting on Monday, June 24th, 2019)

Translated by Simona Nichiteanu