A “perverse” play performed at a Slovakian festival has prompted government uproar, with many senior officials expressing fury at children being present at the show.
A rendition of Little Gem performed at a small village festival on August 18 was reportedly disrupted personally by Slovak environment secretary Štefan Kuffa over its content, which he has claimed is unsuitable for those under 18.
Written by Irish playwright Elaine Murphy, the original play centres around three working-class women from North Dublin and their experiences with sex, drugs and daily life more broadly.
The Slovak performance reportedly involved the use of an “erotic aid” as a prop in one or more scenes. While it was unclear what role that played in the production, a previous review of an English language production of the play by The Guardian mentioned one character’s “hilarious experiments with a vibrator.”
Addressing the audience, Kuffa ordered that all children watching the play must leave before he would let it resume.
Kuffa v akci. To je Slovensko… pic.twitter.com/iUR1HkBsXp
— Kožený Jiří 🇨🇿🇪🇺 (@1250cc03004c44e) August 19, 2024
Those attending did not appear to adhere to the senior politician’s demands, with local media reporting that it was the environment secretary himself who was allegedly led away by the town’s mayor.
Kuffa claims that a subsequent altercation took place between him and some of the play’s defenders and alleged that some of those in favour of the performance attacked him and some of his associates “with sticks.”
“The fact that I acted in good faith that a show with perverse scenes, in addition, intended for adults only, would not take place in the auditorium in front of our children, which I have warned the audience, cannot be a reason for violence in any democratic country,” the secretary later wrote on his social media page.
He also accused liberalist journalists in the country of spreading “hate, evil and lies” about him and the incident.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened to halt diesel deliveries to Ukraine if Kyiv does not resume the transit of oil via Ukraine to Slovakia from Russian energy giant Lukoil. https://t.co/jyZAxdyrhc
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 30, 2024
Following the alleged altercation, multiple politicians within the Slovak Government came out in support of Kuffa.
Deputy Prime Minister Tomáš Taraba took to Facebook to denounce the alleged violence faced by the environmental secretary, adding that the senior government official was justified in trying to disrupt the play.
“The truth is that yesterday, in front of the children in Malá Franková, progressive actors played a perverse show full of LGBT scenes,” he wrote on August 19.
“When Štefan Kuffa, who was there at the festivities, said that this was not suitable for an audience full of children, [they] … started beating him with sticks and breaking his mobile phone,” Taraba alleged.
“I am glad that, according to my information, the proceedings are supposed to be recorded on two mobile phones, which should already be seized by the police,” he added.
Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová claimed that the group responsible for putting on the play had readily admitted that it was meant for audiences aged 18 and over.
“However, the organisers of the [festival] did not state this reality in their materials, which I consider to be a big mistake and failure in the organisation,” she said.
“The State Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment Štefan Kuffa pointed out the inappropriateness of this performance for minors, which resulted in a physical attack on his person,” Šimkovičová alleged.
“I have been pointing out this fact for a long time. Children and young people should be protected from inappropriate content and from the constant pressure of liberal-progressive propaganda, which forcefully pushes topics into their awareness.”
“This performance is far beyond what is suitable for children and youth, not only in terms of sexual scenes, but also vulgarisms and monologues with sexual undertones,” she added.
“I am considering ordering an investigation of the incident, as there is a suspicion that it could be a violation of the law — endangering the moral education of the youth.”
Slovak PM Robert Fico has said his ruling party SMER-SSD will stay out of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament and indicated it likely would not attach itself to other alliances. https://t.co/YQ6EXTFWMV
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 12, 2024
