The Stage

TMA attacks theatre inclusion in Scottish smoking ban

Published Tuesday 5 July 2005 at 15:30 by Nuala Calvi

Stage performances will not be exempt from a national ban on smoking in Scotland - a decision described by the Theatrical Management Association as “backdoor censorship”.

The country will become the first part of the UK to become completely smoke-free in all enclosed public spaces from March, 2006, after the Smoking, Health and Social Care Bill was passed by 97 votes to 17. It follows a similar ban in Ireland which came into force in 2004.

A proposed amendment, which would have exempted actors on stage and in rehearsal rooms, has not been adopted, meaning that from next year it will not be possible to smoke any kind of cigarette on stage.

Richard Pulford, TMA chief executive, said: “No attempt was made to address the issues behind the amendment. It was simply a matter of dogma.

“The effect will be that people putting on plays in Scotland won’t be able to comply with the wishes of the authors in terms of dialogue and stage directions. It means a play like The President of an Empty Room, at the Cottesloe at the moment, will never be seen in Scotland. It’s effectively a kind of backdoor censorship. It’s wholly insensible.”

His comments were supported by the Federation of Scottish Theatre, which said the ban would put at stake the freedom of directors to convey the artistic intention of writers.

Dominic Hill, artistic director of Dundee Repertory Theatre, said the ban would diminish a director’s ability to conjure up the world of a play and that smoking was sometimes vital in creating a character like that of Mrs Robinson in his recent production of The Graduate.

“The actress said she couldn’t imagine playing that part without smoking,” he said. “And there are plays by Oscar Wilde or Noel Coward, where after-dinner cigarettes are very much part of the social scene they write about.”

But in a debate on the issue, health minister Andy Kerr said the arts community had to use its creativity to come up with an alternative to cigarettes, in the same way that it had replaced whisky with cold tea on stage.

He said: “It is not beyond the wit and wisdom of those who are involved in the dramatic arts to come up with an alternative to smoking on stage. It must be remembered that we are seeking to present smoking - including smoking in a dramatic performance - as not being a normal social activity, so I ask our arts community to think again about that. We are trying to demoralise smoking and - as has been demonstrated - there are alternatives to the smoking of real cigarettes on stage.”