An astonishing story unfolded these days in Romanian media that surely qualifies as the best bet for joke of the year and proves that the greatest stage is Romanian reality itself. The country’s state minister for culture, Ion Ardeal Ieremia, recently wrote an indignant note on his Facebook page stating that the artistic consultant of the German Theater of Temesvár (Timişoara, Temeswar) had tried to get hold of the email address of a certain “Molier” to consult with him regarding some copyright issues.
The state minister the attention of the mayor of Temesvár, Nicolae Robu, that the German Theater has become the laughing stock of the world. As he pointed out, “utter unprofessionalism reigns” in the ranks of the interim management of the institution, and he demanded that competitive examinations were organized without delay.
“Every day that passes without selecting a professional management for the theater makes us look more and more ridiculous. Eliza Covaci, the artistic consultant – Dear God! – asked for the email address of a certain «Molier» … Or, maybe you should give it to her yourself, if you have it…” – wrote the annoyed politician.
The Pressalert.ro local news portal went after the story first – their journalist talked to the lady, and the dialogue they carried out convinced the reporter of the shortcomings of the consultant: It seems that she was still unaware that they were talking about the 17th century French playwright…
Nicolae Robu told the Agerpres news agency that he did not know of this story, and he finds it inconceivable that the employee of the theater really referred to “that Molière.” He promised though to check the story, and if it proves to be true, the consultant will be dismissed.
The interim director of the German Theater is Ioan Boldurean, an engineer who has worked previously at a hen farm, then a hosiery mill, so he might not have that much experience in the management of a cultural institution; no wonder that the secretary of state believes that he filled the theater with unsuitable employees – wrote the Maszol.ro news portal. His predecessor, Lucian Vărşăndan, directed the institution for a decade and obtained a score of 9.88 out of 10 in an evaluation organized at the end of his second mandate in the autumn of 2017. Nevertheless, the theater is under the jurisdiction of the mayor’s office, and there is bad blood between Vărşăndan and town leadership due to a lawsuit between them, so he was not reinstated.
The other day, pressalert.ro published a communiqué from the theater’s management, as they turned to them on the right of replica. The interim director emphasized that “false information” was published. The document states that it is not true that Elisa Covaci committed such a mistake; they say that the story is false and being utilized as a pretext to attack the institution and involve it in external disputes. On the other hand, pressalert.ro again noted, that the denied “mistake” was heard by several people…
Title image: Does anyone know the email address of this mister „Molier?”
Portrait of playwright Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by stage name Molière
