Theatre ends play in Sikh protest
*A play which led to violent protests among the Sikh community in
Birmingham has had its run cancelled by the city's Repertory Theatre. *
The theatre said it had refused to censor the work and was abandoning it
purely on health and safety grounds.
Three police officers were hurt during clashes after 400 demonstrators
gathered outside on Saturday.
Protesters said Behzti, which depicts sex abuse and murder in a temple,
portrayed the Sikh faith negatively.
The theatre said the "ugly" violence had caused free speech to be curbed.
Stuart Rogers, the executive director of the Rep, told a press
conference that the decision had been taken after discussions with
police and Sikh community leaders on Monday morning.
Mr Rogers said: "The theatre vigorously defends its right to produce
Behzti and other similar high-quality plays that deal with contemporary
issues in a multicultural society.
"We sincerely hope that the play will be produced again as we are
certain that it is a work that should be seen and discussed.
"It remains a matter of great concern to us that illegal acts of
violence can cause the cancellation of a lawful artistic work."
A spokesman for the Sikh community in Birmingham, Councillor Chaman Lal,
predicted there would have been larger protests had the play's run
continued.
He said: "The theatre has made the right decision in response to a
peaceful protest.
"There are no winners or losers - common sense has prevailed."
Cllr Lal did not accept that the theatre had bowed to the threat of
violence and mob rule.
*Appease*
"We have nothing against freedom of speech, but you do not make a
mockery of someone's faith or beliefs. That is oppression."
Earlier, the theatre said short of "blatant censorship" and cancelling
the production, it could not have done more to appease the Sikh community.
Behzti, which translates as "dishonour", was written by a young female
Sikh, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatt, and was said to have been inoffensive to many
among a younger generation of Sikhs.
However, religious leaders, including the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Birmingham, had urged a boycott of the play.
Three people were arrested in connection with Saturday's demonstration.
The theatre said some protesters managed to get backstage, where they
smashed equipment and destroyed a foyer door.
Mr Rogers added that the Rep's other production, The Witches, would be
staged as usual.
–
Ivan Pope
[email protected]
Studio website –>http://ivanpope.com
Absent Without Leave –> http://blog.ivanpope.com
Protest Censorship
-
Type: discussion
Comments
I did a quick trawl for e mail addresses to send
letters of protest.
The best I could come up with was
[email protected]
I suggest people head it
'For the Attention of Stuart Rogers'
Please do write!
michael
— Ivan Pope <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Theatre ends play in Sikh protest
> *A play which led to violent protests among the Sikh
> community in
> Birmingham has had its run cancelled by the city's
> Repertory Theatre. *
>
> The theatre said it had refused to censor the work
> and was abandoning it
> purely on health and safety grounds.
>
> Three police officers were hurt during clashes after
> 400 demonstrators
> gathered outside on Saturday.
>
> Protesters said Behzti, which depicts sex abuse and
> murder in a temple,
> portrayed the Sikh faith negatively.
>
> The theatre said the "ugly" violence had caused free
> speech to be curbed.
>
> Stuart Rogers, the executive director of the Rep,
> told a press
> conference that the decision had been taken after
> discussions with
> police and Sikh community leaders on Monday morning.
>
> Mr Rogers said: "The theatre vigorously defends its
> right to produce
> Behzti and other similar high-quality plays that
> deal with contemporary
> issues in a multicultural society.
>
> "We sincerely hope that the play will be produced
> again as we are
> certain that it is a work that should be seen and
> discussed.
>
> "It remains a matter of great concern to us that
> illegal acts of
> violence can cause the cancellation of a lawful
> artistic work."
>
> A spokesman for the Sikh community in Birmingham,
> Councillor Chaman Lal,
> predicted there would have been larger protests had
> the play's run
> continued.
>
> He said: "The theatre has made the right decision in
> response to a
> peaceful protest.
>
> "There are no winners or losers - common sense has
> prevailed."
>
> Cllr Lal did not accept that the theatre had bowed
> to the threat of
> violence and mob rule.
>
> *Appease*
>
> "We have nothing against freedom of speech, but you
> do not make a
> mockery of someone's faith or beliefs. That is
> oppression."
>
> Earlier, the theatre said short of "blatant
> censorship" and cancelling
> the production, it could not have done more to
> appease the Sikh community.
>
> Behzti, which translates as "dishonour", was written
> by a young female
> Sikh, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatt, and was said to have been
> inoffensive to many
> among a younger generation of Sikhs.
>
> However, religious leaders, including the Roman
> Catholic Diocese of
> Birmingham, had urged a boycott of the play.
>
> Three people were arrested in connection with
> Saturday's demonstration.
>
> The theatre said some protesters managed to get
> backstage, where they
> smashed equipment and destroyed a foyer door.
>
> Mr Rogers added that the Rep's other production, The
> Witches, would be
> staged as usual.
>
> –
> Ivan Pope
> [email protected]
>
> Studio website –>http://ivanpope.com
> Absent Without Leave –> http://blog.ivanpope.com
>
>
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