Stage News

Acting union Equity has criticised a growing culture of censorship after a play was cancelled, reportedly in a dispute over references to the Israel-Gaza war and trans rights. Equity said it was deeply frustrated at the lack of transparency over the cancellation, and that it was speaking to theatre bosses to protect the principle of artistic freedom. An Equity statement reads:

We reject the growing culture of censorship created by funders and pressure groups. We are fighting for artistic integrity, as well as dignity for our members, and all working people.

We remain in conversation with Royal Exchange management to protect the principle of artistic freedom, guarantee our members' dignity at work, and ensure the integrity of our collective agreements.

The Royal Exchange, Manchester's main producing theatre, has scrapped its entire five-week run of a modern retelling of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream .

The theatre has said that the play faced a number of challenges. It said those challenges included injuries, a delayed technical week and changes late in the process.

The Manchester Evening News reported , external that the show, set in the city's present-day rave scene, was axed after managers objected to a song with lyrics that referred to trans rights and the phrase free Palestine.

Theatre newspaper The Stage reported , external that one of the points of contention was free Palestine being daubed on the set as well as featuring in a rap.

A poster for a West End play featuring a wedding cake was banned by Transport for London (TfL) ludicrously seen as promoting foods high in fat, salt and sugar.

The ad for Tony n' Tina's Wedding , a dinner show at Wonderville, Haymarket, featured a three-tier sponge cake.

The interactive show is set at an Italian-American wedding, with a three-course meal, live music and dancing. Producer Paul Gregg told BBC London they could not run the posters after they delivered them to TfL. He said of TfL:

They said 'you can't put these up, they've got cake on'. It was a bit of a surprise...

Monty Python stars John Cleese and Eric Idle have been woring on new scenes and plotlines for a stage show based on the classic 1979 film Life Of Brian .

Cleese, the prime mover in the revival, said:

I think Life Of Brian is our best film. We are going to do it in London in the second half of next year and I've changed certain things.

One exchange which has had to come out is the discussion between People's Front of Judea members Stan (played by Idle) and Reg (Cleese). Stan says that he wants to be known as Loretta and to have babies. It's every man's right to have babies if you want them, says Stan. Reg counters: But -- you can't have babies. At which Stan responds: Don't you oppress me.

Cleese told an audience at his one-man show last week that when the scene (co-written with the late Graham Chapman) was performed at a read-through for the new show in New York last year, doubts emerged:

At the end, I said to the American actors: 'What do you think? And they said: We love the script, but you can't do that stuff about Loretta nowadays.

So here you have something there's never been a complaint about in 40 years, that I've heard of, and now all of a sudden we can't do it because it'll offend people. What is one supposed to make of that? But I think there were a lot of things that were actually, in some strange way, predictive of what was actually going to happen later.

The stage show will open with a scene written by Palin which never made it into the movie.

 

Offsite Comment: The neutering of Monty Python

25th May 2023. See article from spiked-online.com

Trans activists are even more censorious than fundamentalist Christians.

A theatre presentation is causing controversy in London after one performance has been designated as only open to audience members identifying as  black.

The Theatre Royal Stratford East has warned white visitors against attending the July 5 performance of Tambo & Bones - a production which explores 300 years of African American history. The theatre is designating this performance as a Black Out.

Those running the event said they are hosting the one-off Black Out event during the play's month-long run in a bid to create a safe, private space for an all-black-identifying audience to look at race-related issues. Although organisers said on the theatre's website that no one is excluded, it has been made clear on promotional material that white people are not wanted at the production that night.

Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Festus Akinbusoye, Britain's first black PCC, condemned the event, claiming it set a poor and dangerous precedent. Speaking to The Telegraph, Akinbusoye strongly urged organisers to cancel the Black Out event. He said:

Society is richer and stronger when an understanding of each other's cultures and stories are shared and heard. However I believe the Black Out concept runs contrary to this education and enrichment ethos.

Former head of the Commission for Racial Equality, Trevor Phillips described the Black Out as completely lawful. He said:

I think it's fine, for several reasons. There is not a 'ban on white attendees. It's completely lawful. It is one night out of many. There are other performances designated for specific audiences.'