The Stage

Theatres and religious leaders to hold summit

Published Wednesday 22 December 2004 at 12:40 by Ruth Gillespie

The Commission for Racial Equality is attempting to prevent a repetition of the violent scenes which forced Birmingham Rep’s controversial production Behzti to close, announcing it will host an emergency meeting between British theatre representatives and religious leaders.

Meanwhile manager of the Birmingham Stage Company Neal Foster has challenged theatres throughout the UK and Ireland to stage simultaneous readings of Gurpreet Kaur Bhatt’s script to allow the controversial play to be viewed by as many people as possible around the country.

Birmingham Rep was forced to cancel its production of Behzti after Sikh leaders warned that violent protests involving 400 people were likely to escalate unless the play was scrapped. The play’s name translates as ‘dishonour’ and depicts sex abuse and murder taking place inside a Sikh temple.

However, the CRE said it was unacceptable for a play to be edited or banned because it may be considered offensive to some members of the community. A statement issued to The Stage added: “Even if the play were set in a church, synagogue or mosque, rather than a Sikh temple, we can see no reason why it should not continue to be performed. This playwright, a Sikh herself, had a story to tell. She should be heard and anyone who chooses to see the play should be free to form their own judgements.”

The organisation was also quick to point out that the play would not have been outlawed under the government’s proposed legislation to ban incitement of religious hatred. CRE now plans to host a summit in the new year involving all faith groups, including Sikhs, Christians and Muslims, along with theatregoers, artists, playwrights and authors, to give them an opportunity to discuss issues of freedom of expression and how to deal with religious difference.

Foster, who offered to stage the play at the Old Rep Theatre when it was initially pulled from the Birmingham Rep, said he hoped to coincide the nationwide reading of the script with the CRE event and urged any theatres interested in taking part to contact him.

He added: “There couldn’t be a better reason for the theatre community to pull together. I call upon all the venues in the UK and Ireland to consider that we should come together as one and that each theatre in the country should stage a reading of this play on one particular day.

“This would provide an opportunity for as many people as possible to join the discussion about how valuable the play is and allow members of the Sikh community to express themselves to the greatest number of people.”

Birmingham Rep’s executive director Stuart Rogers claimed that, after discussions with West Midlands Police and religious leaders, he was forced to cancel the production because he could no longer ensure the safety of his audience and staff. However, the action has been widely criticised by the artistic community in the UK and abroad, who see it as sacrificing artistic integrity.

Director Michael Bogdanov, who won a private prosecution case brought by Mary Whitehouse in 1981 against scenes from The Romans in Britain that she felt constituted an act of indecency, said: “This is an attempt to supress freedom of speech and what worries me is that it could set a precedent. The only criteria for taking a play off is if it is bad. If it is a good play then it is the duty of the theatre to stage it and protect it.

“I believe it was a cowardly decision for the board of directors and not an artistic decision to cancel this play.”