Head of Slovak National Theatre fired

Slovak National Theatre (SND) general director Marián Chudovský was fired on Wednesday due to his inability to manage the institution's financial situation, said Culture Minister Ľubica Laššáková (Smer-SD). The theatre has repeatedly been in the red in recent years. According to Laššáková, in the first six months of this year it declared a loss of more than €1 million. Some employees, mainly technical staff, were planning to stage a strike, as they had not received bonuses at the end of the theatre season. Chudovský is convinced that he has not failed as manager. "I'm proud to have created a conceptual programme and that domestic and foreign awards were reflected in record-breaking revenues. We have also prepared projects for the future that were supposed to build the Slovak National Theatre's long-term reputation," he said, adding that if the institution is to maintain high artistic quality and competitiveness with top cultural venues in Europe, it needs higher subsidies. The incumbent head of the SND economics section Vladimír Antal will temporally replace Chudovský in the post until the new SND general director is chosen in a public contest.