The Positions of Power in Contemporary Theatre

Round table in cooperation with Goethe-Institut Ljubljana

Who tells us stories from the stage, which stories, whose stories? If theatre wants to be a space of social responsibility, which embodies diversity onstage and behind the stage, it has to change. We have to tackle the cult of theatre genius.

Who are the theatre managers and artistic directors, who gets the chance to direct and who are the authors of the texts? What is the situation of gender parity in the theatre world in 2018? In Slovenian institutional theatres, of those given a chance to direct, at most, one-third are female, the authors staged are predominantly male, yet we have a high percentage of women in leading positions. But does this in fact influence the gender-balanced repertoire or the abolition of structural sexism and pay anomalies? Or is sexism rooted in the theatre apparatus, as it is rooted in the society? How to abolish it?

In Germany, the study "Women in culture and media: An overview of actual tendencies, development and suggestions for solutions" was published in 2016 by the German Council of Culture which supports gender parity in the German cultural sector. In 2017, following the order of the German Federal Government Commissioner of Culture Monika Grütters, the study "Women in culture and media: A European comparison" was conducted. The data is known: 78% of all German theatres are managed by male directors, 70% of all performances on main stages are directed by men and 75% of texts are written by male authors, while women usually take the invisible and poorly paid work. And that's before we consider the gender pay gap. In Germany, several representative movements that fight to abolish inequality on the personnel, structural and content levels have recently been organised: Pro Quote Bühne, ensemble-netzwerk, Theater.Frauen, to name but a few most visible ones. What about in Slovenia, are we even aware of the problem?

Head of round table: Urška Brodar