STC acts after Palestine protest backlash
The Sydney Theatre Company has apologised for its initial response to an onstage pro-Palestine protest.
The Sydney Theatre Company actors. Two did not join in the stunt
Three actors donned the Palestinian keffiyeh scarf during the curtain call on the opening night of the company’s production of Chekhov’s The Seagull on Saturday.
The move sparked criticism from the Jewish community and triggered the resignation of prominent board member Judi Hausmann after 16 years in the role.
Ms Hausmann, who has been contacted for comment, chaired the company’s Remix organising committee and was one of its foundation directors.
The STC said it was deeply sorry for its initial response to the episode, in a statement issued late on Wednesday.
“We understand the actions at the curtain call and our immediate response has hurt many in our community,” the statement said.
“We believe that it was not the intent of the actors involved to cause any harm or offence.”
Other cast and crew members did not know the actors planned to wear the keffiyeh beforehand, the STC said, and it has told performers they are free to express their opinions and views on their own platforms.
The company said it recognised that while actors bring their whole selves onstage, audiences come to the theatre to “experience the content in that play and that play only”.
“We support individual freedom of expression but believe that the right to free speech does not supersede our responsibility to create safe workplaces and theatres.”
The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance said it would support any members disciplined by their employer for expressing their views.
“MEAA respects the rights of members to publicly express their views on this issue and will support any members who are subject to disciplinary action for simply engaging in freedom of expression,” acting chief executive Adam Portelli said.
MEAA: your members do not have the right to ‘freely express’ their political views to audiences who pay to attend theatre performances. If they wish to do so outside in the street, or through social media, that’s up to them, but not at the end of a theatre performance while on stage.
Thank you to the three actors for coming out and identifying themselves as not supportive of Israel and the Jews in the audience who pay big bucks to see them act – not make political statements to a captive audience who are held hostage as they don their keffiyehs.
Pity those Palestinian murderers, rapists, beheaders and kidnappers in Gaza who you seemingly support, don’t come out centre stage and identify themselves like you do – preferring to hide behind their spouses, children and extended families – who applaud their vile deeds and have cheered on every one of the tens of thousands of rockets fired indiscriminately into Israeli population centers for the last 15 years.
It is your right to choose sides in this 100 years old unresolved conflict – but it is my right to tell you that you have made a very bad choice – as one Jewish State and 20 million Jews worldwide are wrapped in a conflict with 57 Islamic States and 500 million Muslims world wide.
To the two actors who did not participate in this gross audience-abuse – thank you.
May we live to see the day these three actors regret the side they chose and come out onstage wearing tallits.