To think Black Out nights in theatre ARE important

[PenguinLord]

I know there was a theatre that did it last year and a thread about it- but there is a West End venue this year which will host two or three black out nights (where "all-black-identifying audiences" are invited) of the Slave Play. I had mixed feelings, but after having read a few articles on it, I actually agree with the concept- for the record I am very much white.

Spokesperson for the PM criticised black out nights saying "“The prime minister is a big supporter of the arts and he believes that the arts should be inclusive".

But let's face it, theatre experience is far from inclusive or accessible. Having 2 out of a few dozen nights will not really make a difference, nor excludes people who are not black to attend literally 80 if not more other performances. I was in theatre this week, and had a good look around. 98% of the audience were white. There were a few Asian people and 1 (one) black person- in the audience of around 300.

I suppose Id be far less likely to attend an event where I would stick out like a very sore thumb, is it really such a big deal to have two performances where people who dont usually feel theatre is an inclusive space can feel welcome, surrounded by people that belong to the same community?

I think it's because we want to think the best of people.

It's easier to assume that they just don't get it than to confront the idea that they do get it and don't give a fuck. We're giving them the benefit of the doubt.

But you’re indirectly saying that every single person of colour decides not to go the theatre because they don’t feel included.

But does it? Is there anything to suggest that attending a Black Out event makes an individual more likely to engage in the theatre on other nights? Or does it say "here, this is the night for you and your kind, you stay there in your box"

I expect we’ll move past slavery when the legacy of inquality has come to an end. The racism that drove slavery - seeing black people as less than - is still baked into the system.

If you don’t understand white privilege ask yourself if you would like to be black.

Some of these posts can't be genuine. The demographic of this site is simply not one that includes this many people who don't understand the difference between offering a black out performance and excluding black people from performances. Pretty much every thread on this site has a majority of responses from posters who are clearly intelligent, articulate and educated, who may disagree, but at least comprehend what they're disagreeing about. Yet all of a sudden we've been invaded by a bunch of half wits wittering about 'racism against white people..' As I'm sure they'd agree 'The world's gorn maaad'.

Can you show me where I said that I speak about EVERY SINGLE person of colour or on their behalf?
I go to theatre twice a month on average, I see very, very few black people in the audiences- of course I accept that people who frequent more often may see somethign different, although judging by what I read my experience is pretty average. So what I am saying is that for some reason many black people don't go to theatres and the articles I read suggest that many dont feel theatres are inclusive spaces. It may not be the case for black people who do attend theatres regularly.

The way I see it, as a woman, I am sometimes grateful for women only spaces. Judging by the strength of feeling on the gazillion trans threads on these boards, a lot of women share this view. And we don't take kindly to people telling us that we should include men in those spaces. That isn't because we hate men, or because we want to segregate men and women. It is because we see a value in having some spaces that are for women only.

If some black people feel the same way about spaces for black people only, I can understand that. It isn't for me to pressure them to include others.

Why are we continuing to segregate black people to their own performances? Why are we excluding white people?
Honestly I think this actually fuels racism so much now!

I agree with the poster who said that it’s a marketing ploy and it’s also a dangerous precedent-exclude one group this time, then another group next time, etc.

Re. The racial composition of theatre audiences. I’ve just done a quick Google and 4.2% of the population in England identify as Black, compared with 82% identifying as White.

I live in a majority African-American area in the US so I’d expect far more diverse audiences, but not in the UK.

Have you read anything the playwright (who is black) said about this? Because he seems to believe that it makes a difference. And black people are not excluded from other performances either, so it' not like they are confined to those two or three performances only.

responses like this to me show a complete lack of understanding for the wider issues.

being White British brings with it a certain level of privilege. We may not feel it day to day but we don’t have the same barriers and challenges other groups do have.

In your rush to be white saviour of the week, you are coming out with some stuff that actually sounds worse than anything else that's on here:
If you don’t understand white privilege ask yourself if you would like to be black

It's always the way on these kinds of threads.

"What if it was the other way around" like some kind of gotcha, and it hasn't been 'that way around' for centuries anyway.

Then we have the "woman are fighting for safe spaces so why should black people automatically have anything" which gets trotted out too, tiresome.

Then people declaring racism isn't a thing anymore, white people are actually the ones becoming oppressed.... its all so predictable.

True, but we also talk about London, where that percentage is much, much higher than 4%, as opposed to some places where there could be no black people living there at all.

Say there's a play about domestic abuse and gaslighting, a very difficult one to watch because the male actor is brilliant (perhaps from experience as a child, hopefully not that he's actually abusive himself in his intimate relationships) at portraying the body language, the swings in sound from quiet to towering over the other actor and bellowing at the top of his voice. You're surrounded by blokes who are there to be seen as worthy or for entertainment.

You then exit the auditorium and hear loud men who were fiddling with their phones, eating crisps, constantly getting up through the performance to go to the toilet and making others get up to facilitate them talking about how she was provoking the male actor, how it's not really like that, that it's what it used to be like in Victorian times, but no respectable man would ever do that in reality now and it's women who are abusive. They're not moving out of your way, they're occupying all the space and drowning out the quiet distress of the female theatregoer who didn't think it would affect them that much, but seeing it on stage, the visceral reaction to the performance meant that she needed people around her to have an understanding of her distress that she's trying to hide because well, that's what you do, you hide the fear, the abuse, the threat. But she's surrounded, her personal space intruded on, by people who aren't her ex/her father behaving similarly in it not affecting them, that was then, it wouldn't really happen like that, it's not that bad, that was boring and too worthy, adding selfies to their Tinder profile so any woman swiping by will see that they're Good Guys (TM), completely oblivious. And if she mentions it somewhere on social media, maybe somewhere like Mumsnet that she'd have preferred an all female audience, she'll be inundated with NAMALT, Not My Nigel, Have you considered therapy, See a doctor, you're just a Misandrist, etc.

That's why.

Oh dear

Sadly, there has always been a lot of racism on MN.

I'm absolutely certain that they do understand why asking for a white only night is not the same, but the question suits their agenda so they ask it anyway.

Racism does exist against white people, the Irish for example

This gets trotted out so often, and I think its really offensive.

There are plays in Germany and Austria where the audience is called or asked to be of Jewish heritage as the plays look at Holocaust related (I.e very sensitive and historically emotional for those with historical backgrounds) themes. Equally there are plays called for Germans with relatives who were in the military to come and be in the audience (for them to see what their ancestors did and were faced with). So it is not unknown, and very respected.

HR2 Kultur the radio station talks about those plays.

I take your point and I’ve thought about why I don’t agree with it. Because I DO believe in some women only spaces.
The reason is that women require them for reasons of privacy, dignity and safety. Men are overwhelmingly more likely to be a perpetrator of sexual assault or violence than a woman. When a woman is changing or undergoing an intimate procedure (for example) and feels vulnerable it is an entirely reasonable biological impulse to prefer being around the same sex only.

Segregation based on race is a different thing. It’s racism. And that applies whichever race is requesting the segregation surely.

You can't complain about ignorance then show the same amount. 'no blacks, no Irish' ever heard of that? It's not a competition, both can exist. I find ignorance offensive full stop

But very few do because they find theatres uninclusive.

Your words. The truth is, you don't know what other people feel because, you know, you're you and they're them.

Which articles are these?

No. I’m not anyone’s saviour.

Some people on here are struggling to understand why there is a difference between a black out night and white out night.

That Line sounds worse than anything else because it forces people to confront that black and white people are treated differently. I wouldn’t want to be stopped by the police for the crime of ‘driving whilst black’.

@PenguinLord Fair enough, but I still think it’s not a good idea to do this, it’s a dangerous precedent.