A few days ago we informed that the Dramatic Theater canceled the long-awaited premiere of the play “Heksy” directed by Monika Strzępka, the director of the facility. Just before the announcement of this information, the vice-president of Warsaw announced that Strzępka had verbally resigned from her position and would soon cease to perform the function entrusted to her.
Monika Strzępka issued a statement regarding her resignation from the position of director of the Dramatic Theater
The scandal surrounding the director of the Dramatic Theater broke out after employees accused Strzępka of mobbing. Wyborcza.pl reported that two actors left during rehearsals for the play. One of them, Michał Sikorski, stated that “it is not possible to continue working in conditions that deviate from the standards of a healthy, safe process.” Agnieszka Szpila, the author of the novel “Hejsy”, also distanced herself from Strzępka. “For me, the author of the novel and co-author (with Anna Kłos) of the adaptation, the enormity of mental and emotional suffering suffered by the acting team recently is so devastating that I would not be able to watch this performance, forgetting what I saw and experienced together with with the band in recent days, participating in rehearsals in the theater,” she wrote on Facebook.
After the cancellation of the play “Heksy”, Monika Strzępka issued an official statement. “I would like to confirm that on December 13, 2023, I signed a declaration of resignation from my position – General and Artistic Director of the Gustaw Holoubek Drama Theater, and then I confirmed this position orally to representatives of the capital city of Warsaw,” she says in the recording made available by the Dramatic Theater.
Strzępka: I was blackmailed
“However, I must emphasize that my statement was made under the influence of blackmail by several actresses from the cast of ‘Hex’. The actresses demanded my resignation as a condition for their continued work. The incident took place in the dressing room in the presence of two members of the Collective. Two days before the premiere. Despite After I signed this document, the actresses presented their sick leaves a day later,’ added Strzępka.
The director of the Dramatic Theater emphasizes that the premiere was so important to her that she signed a resignation letter. She emphasized that every minute counted for her back then. “I signed it because I didn’t want to waste the effort and commitment of people who had been working on this premiere for many months,” she added.
Strzępka emphasizes, however, that her resignation did not reach the representatives of the Warsaw authorities in writing, which is a formal requirement for the document to constitute the basis for terminating the contract. Additionally, the director emphasizes that the circumstances of submitting the statement (blackmail) mean that it should not have legal effects. “I have made the decision, after consultation with the Theater Staff, to dissolve the Dramatic Collective. From now on, I am the independent general and artistic director of the Gustaw Holoubek Dramatic Theater,” we read in the declaration.
Monika Strzępka also noted that the premiere of “Hex” will take place and rehearsals will be resumed after the actresses return from sick leave. She also expressed hope that, together with the city authorities, she would be able to “bring the Drama Theater out of the crisis.”
Source: Gazeta
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