With little else to gossip about whilst most venues remain closed British theatre folk have become intrigued by the sacking of the Artistic Director of the prestigious Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Not least because reports from the venue contain plenty of juicy gossip which wouldn’t normally be revealed.
The Artistic Director involved is Ruth Mackenzie and before her appointment she was a major player in British theatre. She was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire medal) in 1995 in recognition of her contribution to our cultural life and following her masterminding the artistic side of the 2012 UK Olympics this was bumped up to a CBE.
All this made her the perfect choice in 2017 when the Châtelet appointed her as the first woman to run the theatre since it opened in 1862. Up to this point the venue was best known for glossy productions of classic musicals.
Whilst the theatre closed for a two-and-a-half-year, $35 million renovation, Mackenzie conceived a more radical, headline grabbing repertoire designed to appeal beyond the city’s bourgeoisie and pull in a younger, poorer and more diverse crowd. For example she reopened with a season which included Les Justes, a rap musical based on a work by Albert Camus and staged by Abd al Malik, the first Black artist to direct a play at the theatre.
But then, of course the Covid pandemic closed the place. A few months later Mackenzie was accused of financial mismanagement, being a work place bully, and was fired. She denies both and it’s important to note she hasn’t been accused of anything illegal.
Interviewed by various journalists last week she described her dismissal as “a high price to pay for moving here, writing a 10-year vision and starting it with some beautiful work with artists and audiences that hadn’t had a chance to go to this theatre before.” She also said she would seek legal advice to challenge the decision.
It would be fair to say not all Parisians approved of her innovations at the revered institution. The New York Times reports on a project called DUA, calling it “a much-hyped but poorly executed immersive theatre work. Visitors complained of waiting in line for hours to see a half-finished spectacle”.
The article also claims that “The grumbling continued once the official programming began. Many critics said that the theatre’s opening show, Parade, a reworking of a famous ballet that premiered at the Châtelet in 1917, was shallow; others complained that it used amateur performers who weren’t paid”.
What’s more, apparently “the thumping music in “Room With a View,” a dance piece developed with the French electronic music producer Rone, led to noise complaints from a nearby hotel.”
Ariane Bavelier, the deputy culture editor at Le Figaro has described elements of the new work as “more showbiz than the sophisticated refinement expected in that house,” while she described DAU as “a fiasco.” She claimed it was “poorly organized, slow, pretentious and without much to see.” she described other work in the season as “unoriginal or already shown elsewhere.”
Unsurprisingly Mackenzie has hit back remarking “It was exactly the readers of Le Figaro who found the adjustments from the old Châtelet to the new Châtelet difficult,”
But Mackenzie wasn’t fired because of her programming but for her poor relationship with some of her co-workers. She believes it results from a complaint by two employees from the theatre’s marketing department which led to an official inquiry. “I had Covid and then pneumonia, so it was quite tough being interrogated by Zoom.” she reveals.
Commenting on the final report, which she claims cleared her of the bullying accusations, she admits “It says some rude things about me”.
An article in the Guardian reveals “it concluded that her failure to say “bonjour” to staff, her less than perfect command of French and her failure to turn up to a staff event to turn on Christmas lights had upset some at the theatre. Mackenzie agreed to attend training workshops and promised to take French lessons”.
Carine Rolland, the deputy mayor of Paris and in charge of culture told Agence France-Presse: “Ruth Mackenzie’s talent is not in question... the city must show responsibility notably when suffering, whatever its form, is expressed.”
Mackenzie says she is “heartbroken” by being fired, but hoped that the theatre would continue on the path she had set for it.
But in commercial theatre money talks and perhaps the real reason for Mackenzie’s sacking had more to do with, what an anonymous source described to the Guardian as, “a serious fault connected to management and financial problems”. As a result it's claimed that, under her management, Théâtre du Châtelet has run up a €3m (£2.68m) deficit.
I’m inclined to give that some credence. There’s an absolutely no way a major newspaper would publish an accusation like without ensuring it had credibility.
But let’s give the last word to Ruth Mackenzie who told the Guardian –
“I’m not saying there aren’t financial problems at the theatre, but there isn’t a cultural institution in the world that doesn’t have financial problems as a result of the lockdown,” she said. “And, again, this wasn’t the reason I was given for my dismissal. I’ve been a CEO of cultural institutions for 25 years. I know how to deal correctly with budgets and finances. We got €1m from sponsors in the first season before we were forced to close because of the coronavirus. Anyone who knows me, who has worked with me, knows that I’m not in any way a bully. I do know what I want and am passionate about my work so I push people but I get good results. Maybe the problem is that certain French people of a certain age, colour and class think the theatre belongs to them and someone like me who is not French shouldn’t open doors to others".
Shoreditch Town Hall is a lovely if rather forbidding looking venue in East London. But pass through it's grand Victorian entrance and you'll find a lot going on. I've always enjoyed making theatre there.