On Sunday, March 15, after the show Master and Margarita at the National Theater in Belgrade, the actors announced from the stage to the audience that the warning strike of the Singlus National Theater Union had begun.
Just a few hours before that, a letter from Zoran Stefanović, the newly elected artistic director of Drama (see "Vremena" portal, March 15, 2026) addressed to Darko Tomović, the president of Singles, an actor of the National Theater, reached the public. In the letter, Stefanović announces that "the use of the stage of the National Theater in Belgrade for propaganda or anything else that is not an integral and approved part of the play as a work of art will not be tolerated." This threat by Stefanović is the last in a series of the same content that the management of the National Theater sent to the employees through various decisions, trying to dissuade them from protests and actions against the management. The mentioned warning strike, only one of a dozen already held, is a sign that the threats were in vain, that is, that the members of Singlus do not give up on their demands: repealing point 7 of article 3 of the Rulebook on labor discipline, increasing the coefficients and improving working conditions, and the dismissal of the Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković, the President of the Managing Board of the Theater Dragoslav Bokan and acting manager Dragoljub Bajić.
On March 6, Singlus filed a criminal complaint against the three of them to the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime because of the damage they caused to the collective with their decisions. This criminal complaint was the reason for Zoran Stefanović's letter, although members of Singlus did not even mention him in it.
"WEATHER" In his letter, Zoran Stefanović addresses only you, even though the criminal complaint is filed by TOK-submitted by Singlus, which seems inappropriate. We might wonder why he is reacting at all, given that he is not mentioned in the application.
DARKO TOMOVIC: That's exactly why. He was excluded from the corps of greats, so his unprovoked letter is a little a matter of vanity, and a little, for lack of a better word, I would say - a "cheat" to his superiors, a message that he is also with them, a proof of loyalty. Considering that he doesn't need to prove it at all, because he is theirs, so he is theirs, it will be that this is the next step, the one when you want to recommend yourself from the ranks to corporal.
The administration persistently threatens penalties., and the actors persistently go on stage after the performances, usually with a banner "Folk is folk", reminding the public not to give up on their demands.
We did not use the stage for political purposes. The strike law allows employees to strike within the working space, that is, on every square meter of the National Theater, including on the stage. The assessment of the artistic director of Drama that it is a political action can only be his personal opinion because it is not based on the law. We highlighted the request from labor law, so that he and the others can say what they want. We will defend the thesis that the actions of the new administration threaten labor rights, and not only civil liberties. One is connected to the other. So far, no one has been punished under their provisions. I guess they are weighing the amount of damage and infamy they would incur if they punished someone. They hesitate not because they are ethical, but because they are primarily concerned with PR. Their PR has two lines: we are good guys and we are the strongest in the world so we can do anything. That's where they break. Their performance rating will depend on what they overcome.
The disputed position of the Rulebook on Labor Discipline, which defines that anyone who publicly expresses a political commitment is subject to dismissal, the position of the new administration on how it can be officially announced, and how one must not think in the National Theater.
Singlus submitted a request to the Constitutional Court to determine the constitutionality of that provision. The rulebook on work discipline has always existed and should exist. But the point that is disputed is that anyone who "in the performance of the Theater's work, publicly, verbally, with symbols and gestures, expresses his political or other commitment that is not related to the performance of the Theater's work, then calls for activities that have a political character or is not related to the performance of the Theater's work, or points out symbols or features that are prohibited by law". We have consulted legal advisors and that is why we know we are right. The requests for the removal of the minister and the administration that bother them the most, I will repeat, are from labor law because the way they run the National Theater has caused damage - both material, labor-legal, and damage to our reputation. All this affects the labor rights of employees.
Zoran Stefanović claims in the letter that "sincerely tried to without delay" fill in "all your demands of a trade union nature".
I don't know what he means because nothing happened. Our meetings with him are a bunch of sugar promises. We got a person who only works on his CV, which he thinks is historical. He tells us: give me your trust, give me just a little time and you will see. He expects that this is the end of everything and that this is our agreement. That's why he says - we made an agreement. We didn't agree on anything! Nor is anything fulfilled! He poured a bunch of vain heavenly ideas in front of us, and nothing came of it. In fact, the current artistic director of the Drama is haunted by his own image of himself in this place. Essentially, it is a syndrome of some magnitude, I don't know what it is based on, but it was read already after the second conversation with us. His speeches, his communication with us, are essentially full of nothing. At the base of his attitude towards actors is the attitude that actors are a simple breed - just tell them that you admire them and that they are great, and since they crave attention, they will be satisfied with that statement and will ignore everything else.
Photo: Marija Janković...
The big topic of your conversations with the artistic director of the Drama was the numerous lump sums. Recently, the ensemble received a young member, but not from the group of those who are not employed, and we have been seeing them on the stage of the National Theater for years. He's never actually acted in any of your plays.
Yes, that is all true. A new systematization was made, according to which some jobs were abolished, and some were open but not artistic. These are the "people from the floors", as I call them. We now have 11 vacancies for actors in Drama, and we have 8 lump sums and people on fees. Among them is Vanja Milačić, who has been on flat-rate contracts for 16 years. The rest are young actors. The performances in which they act have brought the Theater hundreds of awards at national and international festivals. All of them can be admitted because, as I said, there are places reserved for them. And yet - nothing.
Maybe you didn't understand something about the young colleagues, at least that's what Zoran Stefanović says in his letter to you...
He wrote that he advocated for a young actor not to be fired because of his activism, and it was he who explicitly said that activism was illegal. I know that my colleague had a conversation with Stefanović about that. I was not present, but I believe that the conversation was, as the colleague told, sometimes cordial and sometimes threatening, so he felt as if he was in front of an investigative body. The conversation lasted 2,5 hours. The colleague, of course, endured it because he is a fighter and because he knows he is doing the right thing.
"The National Theater in Belgrade is the most liberal national theater in Europe, maybe in the world too", Stefanović is writing to you..
What does that prove? He just rattles off something and it is considered an axiom, an indisputable truth. And that doesn't go anywhere anymore except with the voters of his idol who either have a deficit of critical thinking, or personal material benefit to be on that side.
Is it after two months?, as stated by the management, works on eliminating fire prevention problems in the building, Do you feel safe now??
Yes, because we were safe before that. Experts said that all those repairs could have been completed without closing the building, with performances still being performed. Our building was not closed by fire protection experts, but by the Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković, the president of the management board of the Theater Dragoslav Bokan and acting manager Dragoljub Bajić.
Did they announce how much the two-month closure of the National Theater cost?
No, but maybe it's not necessary. It is known how much money was lost due to returned and unsold tickets during those two months, due to the payment of fees to the world star Sergei Polunin since the ballet A bagel in which he was supposed to play was cancelled, then because of the fee to the Spanish choreographer José Martínez due to the postponement of the premiere Don Quixote. It is known how much it costs to move performances to other stages in order to maintain the appearance that the National Theater is working, and so on. Well, certainly one 20 million dinars. It is only a material loss. And what will we do with the reputation of the house? People don't know if someone will close the building again tomorrow, and there is also the spin that our warning strikes are actually a work stoppage, which is not true. We do not stop work, quite the opposite: we demand to work. We demanded to work for those two months. It is extremely important to us that people know that warning strikes do not mean cancellation of the show.
Zoran Stefanović says that Singlus is a parapolitical organization.
The position of Singlus is profiled and clear: against this regime. I assume that because I put myself in the place of an opponent of the regime with my personal attitude, and I am also the president of Singlus, it gives Mr. Stefanović the right to call us all a parapolitical organization. But let him think what he wants, we do our job both as artists and as trade unionists. This government is constantly spreading falsehoods and we have been used to it for a long time. She does it well, and it's up to us to defend well. It has always been and always will be.
Although they stand for the same rights, trade unions in Serbia are not united. With us is, let's say, unthinkable general strike or any other collective action. Why?
Real trade union life in Serbia is short. It seems to me that he never quite got back on his feet, even though we had trade unions in the SFRY, in the one-party system. We had an attempt at a general strike last year in February, then the National Theater was on strike for 10 days, there were also some other institutions, but not all. There is no awareness of the general strike as the strongest weapon because we are divided, because someone got what he asked for, so only the one who didn't get it calls for a general strike. I would not accuse anyone, but it is evident that the unions currently do not have the strength they would have if they realized their potential strength. And then there is the obstruction. For example, the Confederation of Free Trade Unions, within which Singlus is a representative trade union, did not receive an invitation to the meetings where important acts were decided upon. That is why we did not discuss the coefficients, nor the systematization, nor the price of work. Simply put, we're out of the way.
Problems of the employees of the National Theatre, primarily Dramas, as if they united the other theaters, so you have great support from your colleagues, which is certainly good.
We are a small tribe and we all know each other. We didn't even have to ask for help, they offered it themselves. Because it's a fight. You know, there is also an opinion that if Narodno falls, other theaters will fall too. And this government encourages a domino system.
You also have the impression that it would be easier for this government without culture than with it?
There are 10.500 of us in culture, both on the institutional and independent scene. Throughout the country. That is not even a per mille of the total population. But we are recognized as such, we are important and we are eye-catching. The synergy of education and culture is something that holds a nation together. That is why we are under attack, both us and education, because a free-thinking individual is not suitable for being led on a leash.
Is activism getting in the way of your career?? In which plays of the National Theater do you act??
In plays Dervish and death i Year of the crow. And does activism bother me? I don't know. I left a series almost two years ago due to disagreements with the production and management of the television company where it was shown. They were insolent, they asked, especially young actors, not to spread content where some political events against the regime were recorded. Amar Mešić was kicked out, Stevan Pijale after him and some others. And that's because of the activities on the networks and in the media. I didn't wait, so I left, even though it didn't suit me existentially. Some things are unbearable, so I left.
Are you on the blacklist?? Mada, as for the National Theatre, you can't know that because since the beginning of the Drama season, it has only had one premiere.
Yes, Mrs. Olga, a co-production with Banja Luka contracted by the previous administration. Rehearsals began this week God's people, it will be only the second premiere, and there are a little more than three months until the end of the season. I don't think about blacklists. I have that experience since the nineties due to disagreement with the politics of SPS and Milošević, and also part of the opposition at that time, which is now in power. You know, sometimes being blacklisted is like a medal.
What next? I'm thinking of Singlus..
We agree that our pressure and public action must not stop. It will be in a rhythm that will clearly tell the employer and everyone that we are persistent and not giving up. The way of our activism will also depend on the reaction of the employer and the authorities, which we cannot know in advance. What we know is that we will be attacked, that it will be dirty and that our defense will depend on those attacks. And we also know that we don't have to wait for those attacks - we will be proactive because we know where we are going.
