DASKA Theatre Society Lost its Facilities
The Theatre Society DASKA, from Sisak, was established in 1976. It has achieved great successes in the world, but the local community enthusiasm varies. Ever since the Croatian Rights Party (HSP) entered the local government in 2002, DASKA doesn’t receive any funding for its programmes by the city, in spite of the fact that it applies in all competitions for funding. For the past seven years, DASKA survives solely on the financing it receives by the Ministry of Culture.
However, they were surprised by the fact that they ran into the HSP sign in the facilities of the local “Theatre 21” (the former Children Club), a fact they protested in the public debate following the jubilee performance. HSP representatives and the City Council decided quickly to take away the facilities granted to DASKA. The Society still waits to receive any official explanation for the breach of the contract, but they were forced to postpone already planned programmes and activities. It seems that the message send by the members of the City Council to the youth of Sisak could be interpreted as: “Don’t ask what we do, for you could easily lose that little something that you have. We could knock on your doors, too”. At DASKA, they wait to receive the official decision, and then they will submit the appeal and demand annulment of the decision through regular channels. After its success in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the City of Sisak granted DASKA with free use of the facilities in an old furniture depot. The depot was adapted into a multimedia stage “Daskaliste”, used by more than 50 members of various sections of the Society (Splinters, Planks, Daskari, Fosna). The adaptation of the Daskaliste was done by the members of DASKA, who invested some 40,000 EUR donated by sponsors. This year, the “Daskaliste – Space for Elimination of Fear” is financed by the Ministry of Culture. In addition, the National Foundation for Civil Society Development finances the street festival “SOS Art” through its Clubture Programme. |
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