Stathis Livatinos resigned from the National Theatre

His resignation from the National Theater Drama School was submitted by the well-known director and former artistic director of the country's leading national theater, Stathis Livatinos.

As reported by ERT on Tuesday morning (March 2), Mr. Livathinos resigned from the Ethnikos academy, following complaints made by students against him. The allegations do not concern sexual violence but rather authoritarian behavior.

Stathis Livathinos“ ”Epilogue”

In his resignation letter, which he titles «Epilogue,» Stathis Livathinos appears to be apologizing to the students of the National Theater’s Drama School for his behavior: «I apologize once again if I may have hurt any of you —my sternness was motivated by nothing more than concern and anxiety that you acquire the necessary skills for your future careers in theater,» he notes, adding that the students have repeatedly refused to work with him, even for just two hours a week…

Stathis Livathinos's resignation statement:

«CONCLUSION

My dear students,

Following your latest refusal to work with me—even for just two hours a week—so that you can complete your studies, especially during these difficult times we are going through, I have no choice but to say goodbye. I apologize once again if I may have hurt any of you —any strictness on my part stemmed from nothing more than concern and anxiety that you would acquire the necessary tools for your future path in theater.

It took a great deal of effort and years of perseverance for me to finally establish this Department of Directing, where you are today, and for the National Theater School to develop the infrastructure it now possesses.

Keep only the good things and change the theater.

Thank you for everything—to the dean of the school as well as to all my colleagues who supported me.

All the best.

»Stathis Livathinos"

Announcement from the administration of the National Theater's Drama School

A statement issued by the administration of the National Theater’s Drama School confirms that efforts to foster cooperation and mutual understanding between the director and the students were unsuccessful: «Unfortunately, it was not possible to resolve the discord that arose during the teaching process and to restore a climate of cooperation and mutual understanding between Professor Stathis Livathinos and the students of the School,» the statement notes.

The announcement follows:

«Despite the initiatives undertaken by the Director of the National Theater’s Drama School, unfortunately, it was not possible to resolve the discord that arose during the teaching process and to restore a climate of cooperation and mutual understanding between Professor Stathis Livathinos and the School’s students.

Mr. Livathinos, wishing to facilitate the operation and educational work of the Drama School and to defuse the situation, has decided to suspend his teaching duties indefinitely. The Drama School respects his decision and thanks him for his service, which included, during his tenure as Artistic Director, the establishment of the School of Drama’s Department of Directing and its relocation to the facilities of the ’School of Athens—Eirini Papa.“

The Chairman of the Board of Directors.

The Artistic Director

»The director of the Drama School."

The Timeline of Stathis Livathinos' Resignation

In recent hours, there have been intense rumors about Mr. Livathinos’s resignation from the National Theater’s Drama School. The catalyst for this had come quite some time ago, with the announcement published by the Student Association on January 30 on its official Facebook page, in which it stated, among other things: «Aeolus’s bag has been opened, and the time has come to expose the countless incidents of workplace bullying, sexist violence, racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, ageism, and exclusion in the entertainment industry—a space that, although it may seem idyllic on the surface, is full of people who, by exploiting their positions of power, can belittle or even behave abusively, emotionally blackmail, and sexually harass others.

We ourselves—some more, some less, and some, thankfully, not at all— have experienced similar situations—which, unfortunately, we have been unable to speak about for fear that we might have misunderstood something and might be stigmatized in the future.»

On February 6, students at the National Academy held an online meeting with their professors (a meeting requested by the students themselves), and the situation became clear. In a highly charged atmosphere, the students singled out a specific professor, Stathis Livathinos, accusing him of arrogant, authoritarian behavior and «teaching practices» involving «derogatory, disparaging, and homophobic comments, which violated their dignity and created a climate of discrimination and fear.».

In fact, in a letter to their professors (which preceded the meeting), the students noted that «publicly reporting specific incidents that occurred in the past at our school is a complex and painful process, and no one should be pressured to do so.».

«Relations between students and faculty have been restored, and the school has already begun investigating the reported incidents in order to resolve the issues,» stated the joint announcement issued after the meeting by the Director of Studies at the National Theater’s Drama School, Dio Kangelari, the Faculty Association, and the Student Association.

Who is Stathis Livathinos?

Stathis Livathinos is a graduate of Pelos Katselis’s drama school and the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Athens. He studied directing at the Moscow State Theater Institute, from which he graduated with honors and earned a master’s degree.

She worked as an actress with Manos Katrakis’s Greek People’s Theater (1981–83). From 1991 to 1997, she appeared as an actress in productions at the Amore Theater, the Exarchia Theater, and the Athens Theater.

He has directed numerous plays. Some of them are: «I Am Dying as a Country» by D. Dimitriadis, «The Beast on the Moon» by Kalinowski, «Before the Departure» by Thomas Bernhard, «Frenapati» by Kousner, «Plots with a View» by D. Mamet, «Love’s Labour’s Lost» by Shakespeare, «Medea» by Euripides, «Vassa» by Gorky, «The Idiot» by Fyodor Dostoevsky, «A Hero, the Pride of the West» by J. M. Singh, «King Lear» by W. Shakespeare, «Erotokritos» by V. Kornaros, «The Murderess» by A. Papadiamantis, «The Iliad» by Homer, «The Marriage of Figaro» by Pierre Beaumarchais.

He was awarded the Moscow Critics« Award for his masterful production »Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” as well as the Young Artists Award from the Association of Theater Critics and the Fotis Politis Award (2001–2003)

He served as artistic director of the National Theater from April 2015 to August 2019, preceding Dimitris Lignadis. From 2001 to 2007, he was in charge of the National Theater’s Experimental Stage and the Acting and Directing Workshop. Under his direction, the Experimental Stage experienced a remarkable period of growth.

He has taught Directing in the Department of Theater Studies at the University of Patras (1997–1999) and Acting and Directing at the Department of Continuing Education for Actors at Harvard University in Boston. In 2018, he founded the Department of Directing at the National Theater’s Drama School.