Anzhelika Girich, a well-known actress, expresses her disappointment with the state of the children's theater on Lipki, comparing it to a concentration camp instead of a creative environment.
I interviewed People's Artist Anzhelika Gyrich (pictured) on Christmas Eve before the premiere of “Narkis. Recognize Yourself” at the Kiev Academic Theater for Young Spectators on Lipki. She has dedicated many years to this theater and is its leading stage master. Our conversation, however, was not very cheerful…
At the time this article was published, the actors of the Karolina Pampukha Theater and Andrey Voloshin were on their way to meet with Anna Starostenko, deputy mayor of Kyiv, who is in charge of the cultural sphere following the removal of Valentin Mondrievsky.
Vyacheslav Zhili, upon learning about the meeting, prohibited the actors from leaving the theater under the threat of dismissal. This information may have been provided to him by the director of the KSCA Department of Culture, Sergei Anzhiyaka, who was also invited to the meeting.
The actors still went to the Kyiv City State Administration and informed Anna Starostenko about the dire situation in the theater. She promised that the Department of Culture of the Kyiv City State Administration would conduct an inspection of the Kyiv Academic Theater for Young Spectators on Lypki after completing a similar audit at another theater.
According to her, none of the actors will be fired, and bullying in the theater will cease until all details are clarified. However, at 17:00, it was reported that Vyacheslav Zhyla, the runaway leader, had fired Anzhelika Girich.
Rather than understanding and supporting the actors, the city authorities handed them over to the leader, whose illegal actions they sought help against.
A week ago, the theater's actors and artists sent a joint appeal to the head of the Kyiv city military administration and the Kyiv mayor, asking for help in locating and repatriating the fugitive theater head Vyacheslav Zhyla and investigating his actions that led to the near destruction of the cultural institution.
Upon learning of the collective appeal, Vyacheslav Zhyla promptly returned to Ukraine and expedited the premiere.
The addressees of the collective appeal – Sergei Popko and Vitali Klitschko – have not yet reacted to it.
The complaint was sent to the Department of Culture of the KSCA, and after that Vyacheslav Zhili found out the names of all the complainants, including those who wanted to remain anonymous, and he put more pressure on the theater workers.
Angelika Girich did not sign the collective appeal, but she also started facing problems, which is not surprising.
Anzhelika's husband, People's Artist of Ukraine Viktor Girich, has been a Ukrainian theater director and teacher for thirty years and was the director and artistic director of the Kyiv Academic Theater for Young Spectators on Lipki. However, in 2021, Vyacheslav Zhyla replaced him after a competition by the Department of Culture.
The results of the competition are currently being disputed in the Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeal, where Vyacheslav Zhyla filed an appeal after losing in the first court instance.
The Department of Culture of the KSCA did not handle this, which is also not surprising as Zhyla is seen as a creation of the previous leadership of the Department, namely, the former director Yana Barinova.
Although we had a conversation with Anzhelika over a cup of coffee by candlelight, this 'romance' will not surprise anyone in Kyiv today. But the conversation turned out to be more focused on practical matters.
– Angelica, your husband used to lead the theater, he left, and you stayed. How are your relations with the new director?
Angelika Girich– Initially, we had a conversation in his office, he asked me honestly, and I answered honestly, and after this conversation, it seemed like we agreed to avoid conflict, but it was not verbalized, but understood. Later, we did not find common ground, and for a while we simply tolerated each other. I realize that I needed this time, as I wanted to see the conclusion of the court case, but I had already decided: if Zhila remains the head of the theater, then I am leaving.
— Why is that?
Angelika Girich— It became uninteresting. The theater has turned into an amateur group. The standard of directing they propose has nothing to do with directing.
But the most crucial aspect of the theater for me is the people, and they have been brought to a terrible state.
When you enter the theater today, you can immediately sense the atmosphere of fear. I practice yoga and various spiritual activities, so it's very painful for me to see what fear does to people – it constricts them inside, blocks all energy centers, and makes people ill.
—But recently, a group of actors and workers from your theater sent a joint appeal to Vitali Klitschko and Sergei Popko regarding the illegal actions of Vyacheslav Zhyla. Have you seen this letter and do you support it?
Angelika Girich—Yes, I support it, and I am proud of these people who dared to do it in this environment. To be honest, I consider them heroes.
— I heard that they are facing persecution now.
Anzhelika Girich – Yes, in particular, Oleg Tatarin, the chief artist of the theater and one of the signatories of the joint appeal. He is a student of Daniil Leader, an artist of high professional caliber and taste. Naturally, Oleg could not come to terms with the lack of professionalism of the new leader. Vyacheslav Zhyla had already put pressure on him before, and after the joint appeal, he declared that he would only communicate through the personnel department and in writing. We understand what is happening. But how can a theater function without a chief artist?
Recently, Ekaterina Korniychuk, a well-known Ukrainian graphic artist, stage designer, and costume designer, who worked in our theater and also in the Ivan Franko Theater, the Lesya Ukrainka Theater, and the Cherkasy Theater, and has had more than 15 solo exhibitions, was fired in a similar way. Additionally, they subjected her to real persecution.
Caroline Pampousa, an actress, is not given roles but is required to come every day and sit for seven hours in the dressing room. When she asked what she should do there all the time, they told her to read a book. If she doesn't come, she will be reprimanded and fired, while other unemployed actors are at home.
There is selective persecution of some artists who supported the former leader in the elections a year ago. Instead of the creative atmosphere of a children's theater, we now have almost a concentration camp.
— Is it stated in the contract that the actors must be at the theater when there are no rehearsals and performances?
Angelika Gyrich – No! Our working day is irregular due to the nature of our creative profession. If there's a performance, you play; if there's a rehearsal, you attend. If an actor is sitting at home, it's not their fault, it means the leader did not organize the process. Actors can work on their roles at home, outdoors, or at night. We are overwhelmed.
—So why do the actors agree to sit in the dressing room for seven hours?
Angelika Girich– The leader said they wanted a full-time job, so let them sit. I have a question for the Department of Culture of the KSCA: why are they paying money for actors to sit in the dressing room?
– Have they started to pressure you too? – Yes, the head of the personnel department has called me several times asking if I am present at the workplace on days when there is no performance or rehearsal. Apparently, they are preparing reprimands for me and are going to fire me.
(In the course of preparing the material, it became known that, indeed, an order had been prepared by the theater director to reprimand Angelika Girich, allegedly for being absent from the theater on December 18, when, according to the actress, there were no rehearsals, performances, and, accordingly, according to the theater schedule, more than 40 people from the state)
— The artists of the Kyiv Communal Theater turned to the city leadership and reported that their leader had gone abroad during martial law. What do you think the reaction should be?
Angelika Girich– A director who left the theater during a difficult time and went to a safe place abroad no longer has the right to lead a communal theater. This is not the first time he left. Earlier, he was gone for several weeks in July. Then I wanted to meet with Vyacheslav Zhyla, because he sent me a letter via viber at night without a signature about terminating my contract with the theater. Another 40 theater employees received the same “paper”. But the lawyer said it wasn't even a document, and we couldn't protest it. So, for two weeks, I went to the theater administration every day, knocked, and filmed the director's door on video. I intended to wait until he was at work, but I was told he had gone somewhere.
— When did the theater reopen after Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine?
Angelika Girich In the summer, some performances were shown on the small stage. Then some people were put on standby and their contracts were suspended. However, after the actors appealed to the Department of Culture of the Kyiv City State Administration and the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy of Ukraine, we were called back to the theater and the contract was extended.
The ministry had warned that it would check the reported violations. This happened in early September, and from September 20, we started various exercises such as plastics and acting exercises.
Then the theater actor Oles Pavlyutin suggested doing a “reading” (when actors read the play's text from a sheet) based on the work of Grigory Skovoroda “Narkis”. The rehearsals started in October, and it became clear by the end of November that there would be a premiere.
This year marks the 300th anniversary of Grigory Skovoroda, and the idea of the performance is very interesting, but I want to emphasize that it belongs exclusively to Oles.
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It seems that the theater director also considered creative aspects and could have staged the performance earlier, presenting it on the philosopher’s birthday, December 3, instead of on Christmas Eve when the people of Kiev prefer to stay at home.
Today, the premiere date was only postponed to fulfill a formality and at least report something to the Department of Culture. In my opinion, this performance should not have been rushed. It was still difficult for some actors as the texts are philosophical and require life experience and inner position. Maybe more thought should have been given to the cast.
— Were you interested in playing a play based on Skovoroda’s work?
Angelika Girich— Yes, I felt very comfortable, and it seemed that Skovoroda's philosophical thoughts largely coincided with the teachings of yoga. Therefore, I read his work and thought, Wow, Skovoroda was onto something! He is the first Ukrainian yogi.
Grigory Skovoroda's work is about the inner truth within a person, about turning inward to oneself, to the divine principle. Here, from my text, listen: “My body is like the walls of a temple, or like a shard in a vessel. But my heart and thoughts are like an offering in the temple, or like water in a vessel. And since walls are for offerings, and not offerings for walls, and a shard for water, and not water for a vessel, my soul, thoughts and heart are the best in my body.
This performance involves six actors, and we all feel like students, but at some point, everyone takes on the role of Grigory Skovoroda.
— What about philosophy during the war?
Angelika Girich— I’m sure that now is the time to introspect. Any crisis provides an opportunity to start anew and move forward.
—And ultimately, win the war?
Angelika Girich—Yes. Probably yes.
— What do you think about the introduction of a non-repertory theater instead of a repertory theater, as well as a contract system (introduced in 2016 by amending the Law on Culture and the Law on Theaters and Theater Business)?
— (shrugs) For some reason, our government has sunk into that dramatic change, which includes a contract system and a project theater.
But it has long been said that this system is not perfect.
Therefore, in Europe there are both theaters and permanent ones. We have well-established theaters – these are repertory theaters, for example, the Ivan Franko Theater, the Theater on Podol. Dismantling the repertory theater is the easiest thing to do, but what can be done instead?
For many years, the former head of our Theater (Viktor Girich – KV) warned us that another time was approaching, and we should be ready for the contract system that operates in Europe, when a team gathers, the performance plays for a year or three, and then it is written off. But if it were so, yes, this is not the case!
Our theater is now performing shows that were under the Girichs! The same repertory shows. For example, there is an old show in a new way of our play about Peter Pan, a similar story with “Leader of the Redskins”, a play that has been staged in the theater for many years.
Where are the promised “superheroes”?
Vyacheslav Zhyla promised at the competition for the position of theater director that he would create shows about superheroes, but no.
We had 56 performances in the theater's repertoire. Now there are a maximum of six submissions.
Last year, the theater staged shows directed by Akhtem Seitabaev, five or six performances were held – and that's it? But after all, budget money was spent on this, and today this show is no longer in the repertoire. In addition, they staged the English play “The City Was There”, but again it is no longer there.
—Maybe it's the war, some actors left Kyiv?
– Of course, some left the cast, but it was possible to introduce someone else for this or that role, we now have a lot of actors without work. In general, this is a trend in the theater: a show is staged and immediately written off. But after all, money was spent on it, costumes were made, scenery was made, and this needs to be worked out somehow? Here's an analogy for you: when a film is being shot, it's being screened in order to recoup the investment and earn money. And here?
—How long can a performance usually run?
– In different ways, depending on whether he came to the viewer or not. We have a performance-collage “Dream” by Shevchenko, which ran from 2014 until the appointment of a new director of the theater. There is also a performance – the legend “Crazy Day or the Wedding of Figaro”, which ran for 20 years. The cast, performers changed, they sewed new costumes, made scenery, but he kept leaving, but why? Because the audience is asking for extravagance…
– Well, of course, this is a classic.
– Yes. Vyacheslav Zhyla once boasted that he would make a futuristic theater out of it. But parents lead their children to classic fairy tales, to well-understood stories.
—What Kyiv theaters are good to work in now?
– In my opinion, the Ivan Franko Theater. When I scroll through the Facebook feed, I envy them, because I see that from the first moments of the war they had creativity, they did some kind of concerts, evenings, it was clear that people were on fire.
I witnessed processes happening in the Young Theater, there is a strong sense of love for one's country there. During the summer, I went to see the play “Tsap – katsap” and I enjoyed it so much that I even cried.
– What does it rely on?
– It depends on the leader. The leader should make sure that everyone has a role and there are more shows. In the Youth Theater, we used to have so many performances that we were overwhelmed with roles. But now we can only joke about how there are no shows, but people still get paid.
As my teacher Nikolai Nikolayevich Rushkovsky used to say: “Being an actor would be great if it weren't for rehearsals and performances.”
The theater was my life for a long time, and it was never about money.
– The actors mentioned that many people left your theater. Where did they go, and is it possible to find work in other theaters? You mentioned that your actors are auditioning in other Kyiv theaters.
—I think it's hard to find work in other Kyiv theaters because the directors there are struggling to support their actors. More than 50 people left our theater, and many didn't find work elsewhere, some just joined the stock exchange, others are now working in a cafe.
People left because they couldn't handle the pressure or they were directly told to write a resignation letter or “I’ll make your life so difficult that you'll want to resign.” Some said it was impossible to work with Zhila, but I'm not a fighter, I can't do it.
Actually, it's a tragedy that everything is falling apart and there is no unity.
– On January 10, the Administrative Court of Appeal in Kyiv will consider the appeal filed by Vyacheslav Zhyla against the decision of the first instance court, which declared his appointment as the director of the Theater unlawful. What do you expect from the court?
—Of course, I hope for a win (laughs).
You see, it was a big deception with that competition. Even before it took place, everyone knew, we were directly told that Vyacheslav Zhyla would be the new director of the theater.
The competitive system introduced in 2016 is, to say the least, flawed. 214 representatives of public organizations from all cities of Ukraine registered to participate in the competition jury. It would be one thing if among the public organizations there were the Union of Artists, Writers, Composers. But it turned out that these were some kind of “beauty salons”, a la FOPs, which can be opened in one day. At the same time, they were from different cities. It seems that all cities of Ukraine are interested in choosing the director of the capital's Youth Theater. And when the organizations were chosen, the pieces of paper were put into balls of different colors…
—These points are more suitable for law enforcement. Did you report a crime?
— No, we went straight to court.
— What was the main argument that influenced the positive decision of the administrative court?
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– The fact is that Yulia Kirilyuk, who staged a performance at the Actor Theater, where Vyacheslav Zhyla directed, and also from a public organization, was a member of the competition jury. The court noted that a conflict of interest was seen in this fact and ruled in our favor.
Annabella Morina, translated by Skelet.Info
