To think Black Out nights in theatre ARE important

I wonder if a Holocaust play that has two nights for Jewish people only, would receive such backlash. I personally could fully understand it and would think very poorly of non Jewish people purposely buying tickets out of spite.

Why does it bother people so much

Have you spent your time yourselves working towards racial equality, every time you have become aware of racism spoken out, reported incident to the police and followed it up, marched against racism, can you honestly say you have never ever made a judgement on someone because of their ethnicity

It is a request that’s all. The experience for many black people watching the play will be different to the experience for white people. It’s not just a piece of horrific history it has impacted and shaped their families lives. How many black people will experience when they show emotion, upset or anger their feelings are labelled as chip on shoulder, being aggressive etc.

At times people want a space to explore emotions this isn’t just a story, this is history that snapped millions of peoples lives and the impact is still highly felt we can all go and see the play at some point

as for the comments about the UK not being racist or very little racism here I don’t think that is true from listening to people experience. And why is that good enough anyway

@Newbutoldfather

I agree that positive discrimination in an industry which to a lot of children's minds would be their number one career is worrying. The arts world is insanely competitive with many fantastic actors of all cultures and ethnicities.

The diversity debate becomes more convoluted if we start saying there aren't enough people of Indian heritage or Chinese heritage on screen or stage as you get into arguments whether a cast should represent UK population by having a proportionate number of actors from each UK ethinicity. (We then throw UK regions into the mix!)

I think this all gets out of hand. You can not be racist by having an all white cast sometimes (though obviously not for every thing). You never know there might be a few Jews in the cast but you wouldn't notice because of white skin colour but maybe they are undsrrepresented?I

The focus on slavery and encouraging black audiences seems to suggest that we are not portraying slavery as a historical event of hideous treatment of humanity but there is a direct link between racism of today with racism in the colonial US i.e. white people are unwelcome as they are still seen as oppressors that should feel a collective guilt for these events and I think that there is debate about this (in fact I think it's wrong).

@PenguinLord ,

The only reason that whites aren’t excluded is that it would be illegal, it is perfectly clear that they would not be welcome.

I wonder how many whites actually attended the black out nights in NY?

The theatre is a very progressive environment. I see many non black themed plays, Shakespeare for instance, where blacks play obviously white characters (King Henry most recently) and the percentage of black cast members is way more than even 13.5%. This is not an area where positive discrimination is needed or wanted by the vast majority.

Would you want black out nights/days in Michelin starred restaurants or tennis tournaments? It strikes me as the discredited idea of multiculturalism, as opposed to integrating all minorities into society as a whole.

And, when did this idea become entrenched that ‘safe spaces’ are always needed for art? Art can provoke, stimulate, even strongly repulse. It has never been only about beauty or comfort. If you are forced to participate without consent, that’s one thing. If you choose to buy a ticket and attend, that’s another- particularly today when you can google and read reviews or even spoilers before you go.

@Medschoolmum Yes, many British people of Afro Caribbean heritage will be descended from people trafficked to the Caribbean prior to 1833.

Halle Bailey is the perfect little mermaid. This is the hill I’m willing to die on.

Very few black Britons are here because of slavery, for instance, unlike in the U.S.

Surely many British people with Afro-Caribbean heritage are here indirectly because of slavery, if they are the descendants of people who were trafficked to former British colonies?

Thank you for your question. My heart sank when I saw I’d been quoted because it’s only ever been to criticise so it was really nice to read your comment ☺️
I think all of the things you’ve mentioned are important. When we put on Windrush it was the first
‘black’ play we’d done. Almost immediately we had black actors audition and be cast in subsequent plays that had no specific black story or character. I’m sure it was because Windrush was advertised on a big banner outside the theatre so sent a subliminal message that we were a welcoming place for people of colour.
i like the idea of a black Romeo and Juliet. I saw Hamnet with a black actor playing Agnes (Shakespeare’s wife) and mixed race children.
And yes, writers, directors, theatre management all are important. We need better representation and we need to work together - black and white - racism diminishes all of us.

It is a divisive gimmick, playing to the fetishisation of victimhood

The racial situation in the UK is not like that in America, although we seem to be imagining that it is. Very few black Britons are here because of slavery, for instance, unlike in the U.S.

We don't see many black people in the theatre here because there are not many black people in the population - less than 4% in England, fewer still in Scotland (2%?).

There is no reason why any racial group should think that the theatre is 'not for them'. If you want to find a real issue, look at social class - the effects of this far outweigh those of racism, in what is a relatively non-racist country.

It's really interesting to hear from someone involved in theatre. There has recently been a push for more diverse casting so do you think that representation is more important or the stories being told..or both? Are black audiences as likely to engage with Romeo and Juliet because it has a predominantly black cast or are black audiences more likely to engage with theatre if there are more opportunities for black people to commission, write, produce, direct etc.

When a facility or service or performance is for a specific group for reasons relating to that group its really weird to complain you are excluded, say its divisive and make it about you.

Very much agree with this. I think the only thing I don’t like is the use of language around not being under the white gaze. I personally do not go to look at the audience as I’m going to see a show. However, I am white so I don’t have lived experience and it’s very much not my place to say that others shouldn’t have a safe space as I think everyone should.

The word slave comes from Slav. Slavic people, from whom the word originates, are white.

Do they get a say?

Beware of simple solutions to complex problems.

Dividing people based on the colour of their skin is unethical, regressive, divisive and racist, no matter how you dress it up.

You don’t fix racism by fixating on the colour of one’s skin.

People have asked why west end theatres don't do low-cost nights, well, the answer is that the theatre's would lose tens of thousands of pounds in potential profit. And that links to the cynical black out move - it's P.R to sell tickets for a show that looks a bit boring and tedious and otherwise would struggle to pack them in. Kit Harrington isn't much of a draw these days. Like anything commercial, the bottom line is always profit.

Oddly enough, I agree with you on this point.

Though I doubt that we'd agree on much else.

Threads like this remind me of one reason why racism will always exist - because some people just don't understand what it is.

I'm not black.

But you are racist.

HTH.

Ok I'm racist👏🏽 I'm very sorry for offending all you black oppressed people.
🥱

Yawn🥱

I'm not sure why you're so eager to keep pushing me towards Candace Owens. I have no interest in watching a right-wing commentator simply because she's black. I get that you might feel that she legitimises your racist views but it's not really my bag, thanks.