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Dateline: 21st December, 2004 Brum Cancels Play After Riot Birmingham Rep has been forced to cancel its production of Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's Behzti (Dishonour) after a protest by Sikhs turned to riot. The play, by a writer who is herself a Sikh, depicts scenes of sex and murder in a Sikh temple. 400 protesters gathered outside the theatre and some manged to break into the theatre and get backstage where they destroyed equipment. Four policemen were injured. The theatre has now cancelled the play because of concerns for the safety of audiences for both it and the other production, The Witches, a children's show. Sturat Rogers, the excecutive director of the Rep, told a press conference, "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." Sikh groups in the city, however, called it "the right decision" and added that "common sense has prevailed". Larger protests, they said, would have happened if the play had not been closed. Update 24th December Writer Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, is now in hiding after death threats were made to her. Proposals by Birmingham Stage Company's Neal Foster to hold public readings of the play, along with proposals from elsewhere for a new production, have been cancelled at the request of the writer. It is understood that Foster has also received death threats. The Commission for Racial Equality and Arts Council England have announced that talks will be held early in 2005 which will bring together community, artistic and cultural leaders to discuss what to do in the future when a work of art causes offence. “It’s not an attempt to lay limits to free speech or artistic expression,” CRE chairman Trevor Philips told The Guardian, “but to find a way of talking that does not involve bricks going through people’s windows.” Equity's general secretary Ian McGarry also told the paper, "While it is understandable that Trevor Phillips should try to bring community leaders and theatre practitioners together to defuse the hostility that has lead to the deplorable closure of Behtzi, I have concerns about where such discussions might lead. Theatre producers are bound to defend their ability to put on productions, however offended any individual or group might be by their content. The freedom of writers and performers to express themselves artistically cannot be compromised. It is an essential part of the open society in which we live. "For many years Equity has campaigned internationally to protect artists who have found themselves threatened by intolerant societies unable to withstand critical appraisal. Surely we should not have to bring such campaigning to the UK." Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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