The biggest producing theater in Manchester, the Royal Exchange, has canceled its whole five-week run of a contemporary adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare.
Equity expressed its “deep frustration” with the lack of openness around the cancellation and said it was in talks with theater owners to “preserve the concept of artistic freedom.”
Despite the play’s “many challenges,” the theater has stated that it wishes “to work with artists who address complex issues.”
“Injuries, a delayed technical week, and changes late in the process” were listed as some of the difficulties.
The News said that the manager’s objection to a song’s lyrics that mentioned trans rights and the term “free Palestine” led to the cancellation of the concert, which was based in the city’s current rave culture.
One cause of disagreement, according to theater news source The Stage, was the phrase “free Palestine” that was rapped and painted on the set.
Equity stated that union representatives “received assurances that they take our concerns seriously” at their meeting with the theater’s management on Wednesday.
A statement read: “While we welcome the engagement, we remain deeply frustrated by the lack of transparency regarding the events leading to the cancellation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”For equity, this is a matter of freedom of speech and dignity at work.
