Slovak Theatre Institute faces dramatic budget cuts threatening operations

The Theatre Institute in Slovakia is facing its greatest threat in three decades after the Culture Ministry under Martina Šimkovičová dramatically reduced the institution's budget. The institute, which was planning to celebrate its 65th anniversary in April, must now cancel almost all of its key planned programs. Director Alžbeta Vakulová warned that the cuts threaten the institute's survival, with even planned publications of a monograph and exhibitions about actor Peter Dvorský at risk. The institute serves as a crucial cultural repository and research center for Slovak theatre history and documentation. The budget reduction comes as part of broader cultural policy changes under Šimkovičová, who was nominated by the Slovak National Party (SNS), a nationalist party that is part of the current ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Robert Fico's Smer-SD party.