The initiative to declare World Theatre Day, which is celebrated on 27 March, was taken by the International Theatre Institute (ITI) in 1961. On World Theatre Day, an international message is sent around the world, written by a theatre artist selected for this purpose at the invitation of the ITI. The first message was sent to the world in 1962, and its author was Jean Cocteau. The author of this year's international message is a theatre, film and television actress from the United Kingdom Helen Mirren.
In addition to the international message, which is read around the world (including here) at special theatre events or before performances, many countries also celebrate World Theatre Day with national messages. This year, the Slovenian Dramatic Artists Association has asked a drama actor Sašo Tabakovicto write a Slovenian message.
Slovenian message on World Theatre Day
Dear creators, theater lovers,
We celebrate the international day of the performing arts, those sweet flowers of inspiration.
We artists nurture its essence of diverse aesthetic approaches with free thought, with an appreciation of the world that can form clear viewpoints, and with the stimulation of feelings that can embrace the deepest human premises. How many forces can be exerted on a relatively small space called a stage!
The last year has not been kind. Not only because of the epidemic that turned the world upside down and, in our case, made direct contact between the audience and the actors impossible, but because in the time we share with other citizens, it has exposed a crisis of social values. This has penetrated every pore of intimate and public life, and theater is no exception.
When there is hunger, there is hunger for all. The feeling that we can manage to hibernate the crisis through ignorance is deceptive. At this rate of degradation of the postulates of the common good, there will be no spring.
The responsibility for this must be taken by politics. Due to the general disinterest that repeats every year and the increasing neglect of the cultural perspective, it was unable, unable, and unwilling to protect diverse artistic practices and the most vulnerable group of self-employed people. It preferred to lock itself in marble offices and explain its reckless moves through letters from readers of the daily newspaper. The accusation of attempts to dismantle cultural institutions, organized structural operations, and regulated labor relations is also more than justified. Let us remember the deliberate deception when the ruling politics arbitrarily withheld financial resources from colleagues in the film industry that were granted to them by law. Which it is still doing today, at this very moment. Therefore, the fear that it will act in the same vulgar way in the case of others at any moment is not unnecessary.
Especially with the well-known and tireless appointment of politically acceptable personnel to leading positions regardless of their credentials.
The cultural community must take responsibility for this. It shared with politics the general lack of interest in its own perspective, despite occasional protests and artistic actions in front of the relevant ministry. It put professional honesty aside, and the art community had to give way to private interests and their financial advancement. Clans and friendly connections dominate within the art guilds, and there are fewer and fewer moral authorities who could cut their Gordian knots. Individuals, with rare exceptions, generally do not want to take a more severe stance on the problems that plague us in their public appearances. Not even when they are publicly called upon to do so. Just look at how immaturely we responded to the cases of sexual abuse and violence at Agrft. When the sad news broke, social networks were full of support for the victims. Even the academy's faculty shuddered in understanding. But the further development shows that we are more skilled at public performances than at bold and well-intentioned moves that would bring a breath of fresh air into the murky sphere, to give us a little breather. The professors, who had a well-founded feeling that they would be the target of a reason, instead of resigning, as the director of the Berlin theater did, in order to preserve the integrity of the institution he represents, despite the fact that the official prosecution against him had not even begun, preferred to "take stock" and go to sick leave. Well, perhaps some still mumbled that they felt guilty somewhere.
But now they are doing nothing but patiently waiting for the storm to pass. Why not, when the thunder of the cultural public is becoming less and less, because they would rather take pictures of their palms with the inscription #nisisame than closely monitor the development of events. They are waiting and slowly preparing for career rehabilitation, so that they can finally continue their irreplaceable lecturing and working in the theater. They are probably helped in this by colleagues who owe them some favor, or comrades and like-minded people in aesthetics, whatever. The cultural community forgets that we do not need self-evident letters of support and indignation, not even from the academic council, but moves that are public and not hidden behind the demagogy of internal procedures.
The situation in theatres is no better either. A week ago, the Slovenian Dramatic Artists' Association and the Slovenian Audiovisual Actors' Association sent a letter to the management of major theatres asking for their views on sexual abuse and violence in the workplace and how they will identify, regulate and sanction such acts in the future, thus protecting their employees. The fact is that to this day, not everyone has responded to this letter. Can we really be surprised if even the Board of Directors of Slovenian Theatres was unable to utter a single sentence to at least condemn such acts in principle?
Each of us must take responsibility. Every time we turned the page when faced with the dishonest actions of morally compromised individuals, instead of pointing out irregularities, fearing for our positions or existence, we contributed to the reality we live in. Even when the situations were more benign than cases of abuse or violence. Even when, for example, we disagreed with something, we preferred to keep our opinions to ourselves just in case.
Every such move crippled the artistic stage, its poetics, and the freedom we are given to reflect on and analyze it.
Gregor Strniša, a forgotten Slovenian poet, writes in one of his plays: "The city rustles through broken doors. The roof is gone. We stand between the walls, but above us is the sky."
Dear colleagues, on the occasion of the theatre holiday, I wish that we can stand side by side during the summer solstice and that we can touch the sky, which we are now staring blankly at. Only then will our kind invitation to the audience to return to the theatre with us after the epidemic is over be truly sincere.
Saša Tabaković, drama actor
International message on World Theatre Day
These are truly difficult times for the performing arts, and many artists, technicians, and theater professionals are struggling to stay afloat in a profession that is already fraught with uncertainty.
But perhaps it is precisely because of this ever-present uncertainty that they are better able to survive this pandemic with humor and courage.
Their imagination has already spilled over into innovative, entertaining, and moving ways of communicating in these new circumstances, thanks in large part to the internet, of course.
People have been telling each other stories for as long as they've been on the planet. And a beautiful theater culture will live on as long as we're here.
The need to create that drives writers, designers, dancers, singers, actors, musicians, directors will never die and will soon flourish again, full of new energy and a new understanding of the world we share.
I can't wait!
Helen Mirren, United Kingdom, stage, film and television actress
Translated by: Barbara Skubic
The international message is read by this year's ZDUS award winner, actress of the Slovenian National Theatre Nova Gorica, Ana Facchini.
Helen Mirren is one of the most famous and respected actresses with an international stage, film and television career and has received numerous awards for her powerful and diverse creations, including an Oscar in 2007 for her role in the film Queen.
Theater
Helen Mirren began her career as Cleopatra at the National Youth Theatre. She then performed in Manchester and later joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. After four important years with this company, Helen made a complete turnaround and became a member of the renowned director Peter Brook's Centre de Recherche Théâtral, with whom she toured Africa and America.
Since then, she has worked in theatre in numerous productions in the West End, the Fringe Festival, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the National Theatre and on Broadway in the USA, where she has also appeared in plays A month on the farms, for which she received a Tony Award nomination, and Dance of Death, in which she starred opposite Ian McKellen.
Among the following performances, we should mention the performances Orpheus is going down at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre and Electra in black at the National Theatre, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress.
She returned to the National Theatre in 2009 with the title role in Racine's Phaedrus, directed by Nicholas Hytner. The production made history as the first theatrical performance to be recorded for NTLive and shown in cinemas around the world.
In his last role in London's West End in 2013, he Audience Peter Morgan, directed by Stephen Daldry, once again played Queen Elizabeth II.
She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play and What's on Stage. In February 2015, the play, still starring Helen Mirren, moved to the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City, where she won the Tony Award for Best Actress for her performance.
Film & television
Helen Mirren is not only famous for her stage career, but also for her outstanding achievements on the screen and television.
In 2003, she was appointed Dame of the British Empire.
Details about her work on stage, film and television, as well as the charities she supports and her life, can be found on the website www.helenmirren.com.
