Muslim McCarthyism on the Theatre Stage?
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For those who follow the Arts.
This on the AlJazeera website. I am not sure if other UK newsites have highlighted this.
Police wanted to see the final script of the National Youth Theatre's play, attend the first three shows and circulate plain clothes officers in the audience.
But before it opened it is cancelled, 10 days before opening night.
The NYT said: "We can confirm that no external parties had any involvement in the decision to cancel the public presentation of Homegrown." It was cancelled on its artistic merits.
Why is this McCarthyism? It seems more like some Muslims getting a taste of their own medicine. They don't just get plays withdrawn. They kill playrights, cartoonists and filmakers:http://www.international.ucla.edu/asia/article/16478
Just how are you aware of the message of the play, ALB, having never seen it? More on the actual play herehttp://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jun/02/east-london-school-play-radicalised-youth-homegrownI highlighted my concerns …Police monitoring of a play which was to be staged by a legitimate and reknown theatre group.Would you approve of secret police attending our meetings and insisting on seeing the speakers notes beforehand…[well, actually we would welcome any increased audience or attention, no matter the source]I find it worrying that you have chosen to describe actors and play-wrights as simply "muslims" ignoring any political or religious opinions they individually held and therefore justifying police-spies on their work. Googling reveals that it was covered by the media and people such as Simon Callow, David Hare, Young Vic artistic director David Lan and Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti, said the cancellation "is a troubling moment for British theatre and freedom of expression. We fear that government policy in response to extremism may be creating a culture of caution in the arts."I recall myself when at school, in the English curriculum, were the plays of Sean O' Casey …by the time i left school, they had been dropped due to the Northern Ireland Civil War…
I suppose you're right. We have to defend the right of Islamists to free speech just as we do for fascists, even though they're worse than fascists. But we don't have to make a song and dance about it, just concede the principle if pressed. We must avoid at all costs showing any sympathy for islam.
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