letter from Krystian Lupa after the cancellation of “Emigrants” in Switzerland – Liberation

2023-06-05 16:43:27

The director Krystian Lupa publishes in “Liberation” his response to the allegations made against him.

“I wish to respond to the allegations made against me by the technical team of the Comédie de Genève regarding behavior that goes beyond the ethics of artistic collaboration. In recent weeks, a period close to the end, two incidents that occurred can be considered as such.

“First, my very violent reaction to the unexpected interruption of the translation by the translator Agnieszka Zgieb — privately a longtime friend and collaborator. I don’t want to go any further here because it’s not about who was right or wrong. I shouldn’t have reacted this way and I was very affected by it. The next day, Agnieszka Zgieb and I talked about the incident again, and our relationship resumed, calmed down. I would like to take this opportunity to deny that insulting words were said against him, a contrary interpretation would be a distortion of my remarks.

“The second incident is my reaction to the inability to run a simple sketch light during a rehearsal. Again, my reasons and arguments don’t matter here. I shouldn’t have raised my voice, because I myself don’t approve of such behavior. I insist again: I did not use offensive words or insults, I never do. The next day, I spoke to the head of lighting (the incident took place in his absence), we clarified the reasons for the incident and I asked him to pass on my apologies for having raised his voice.

“For both of these incidents, I would like to formally apologize, this time to everyone in whose presence this happened. During the first general rehearsal, punctuated by numerous interruptions and stopped by the technical team, there was no conflict on my part, but only a persevering request to obtain the correct execution of the composition of the light, the sound and video (I always do it) in order to avoid technical errors later. This, it turns out, was seen by the tech team as a violation of the work standards they were used to. In this case, I think that the theater, when it invites a foreign director, invites him with its working method, to which the teams should at least try to adapt. Any contradictions can always be negotiated or discussed. There was no such attempt, no communication. The first step was a solidarity revolt, which totally surprised me and which I still don’t understand.

June 3, 2023 Translated from Polish by Agnieszka Zgieb