No money for Kupala Theatre

Alyaksandr Lukashenka told the troupe of the Yanka Kupala National Academic Theater on Friday that the government would reduce funding for the company.

“You will earn money yourselves, but we will also support you,” the press office of governor quoted him as saying after watching the troupe perform their trademark production Pawlinka, the first performance in the theater after its years-long restoration.

Some members of the troupe used the meeting to ask for the government’s assistance in improving their housing conditions, to which Lukashenka replied, “We will think about how to support you. But it should not be the way it was with our athletes, who used to be paid huge amounts of money for poor results.” 

Lukashenka warned that an actor’s pay should depend on his or her performance, and called for developing criteria for paying grants to actors. 

He said that the government would provide targeted assistance to art figures, including actors. “I have to count money so that it does not get wasted. Money should be earned,” he stressed.