 A New York theatre company has put off plans to stage a play about an American activist accidently killed by an act of stupidity in front of an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza because of the current "political climate" - a decision the play's British director, Alan Rickman, denounced yesterday as "censorship".
| Yup, always being oppressed by The Man. |
James Nicola, the artistic director of the New York Theatre Workshop, said it had never formally announced it would be staging the play, My Name is Rachel Corrie, but it had been considering staging it in March. "In our pre-production planning and our talking around and listening in our communities in New York, what we heard was that after Ariel Sharon's illness and the election of Hamas, we had a very edgy situation," Mr Nicola said.
| "People were beginning to figure out that the Palestinians aren't such nice people!" |
"We found that our plan to present a work of art would be seen as us taking a stand in a political conflict, that we didn't want to take."
| "And our donors were really mad at us!" |
He said he had suggested a postponement until next year. Mr Rickman, best known for his film acting roles in Love, Actually and the Harry Potter series and who directed the play at London's Royal Court Theatre, denounced the decision. "I can only guess at the pressures of funding an independent theatre company in New York, but calling this production "postponed" does not disguise the fact that it has been cancelled," Mr Rickman said in a statement. "This is censorship born out of fear, and the New York Theatre Workshop, the Royal Court, New York audiences - all of us are the losers."
| Except for the small audience, which is a winner -- what to do with three free hours of time? |
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