The Sydney Theatre Company has issued an apology after the resignation of one of its longstanding foundation board members over an on-stage pro-Palestinian protest by three of its actors.
Judi Hausmann, founder and chair of Sydney public relations company the Haus, announced her resignation from the STC’s fundraising arm, the foundation board, on Tuesday after a 15-year tenure.
The resignation came three days after the opening night of the STC’s production of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull at Sydney’s Roslyn Packer Theatre. During the curtain call, three cast members draped themselves in traditional keffiyeh headdresses to signal support for Palestinians in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
One of the protesting actors, Harry Greenwood, is the son of actor Hugo Weaving, who also sits on the STC’s foundation board.
In a letter to STC’s acting board chairperson, Ann Johnson, the chair of the foundation, Gretel Packer, and the company’s director of private support, Danielle Heidbrink, obtained by the Australian, Hausmann referred to a request she made to STC management for a “one-night pause” of the production, to give the company time to draft a “resolution that would be acceptable to all parties”.
The Monday evening performance of The Seagull went ahead as scheduled, with STC management issuing a statement the same day saying the company had not been aware of the protest prior to it happening and apologising for “any distress caused”.
“What hurts most is that I love the STC and all of the people I’ve worked alongside, especially the three of you,” Hausmann wrote in her resignation letter, according to the Australian.
Hausmann declined to talk to Guardian Australia on Wednesday, saying she was postponing all media interviews to recuperate after three sleepless nights.
“I never imagined my resignation would be necessary because I’m a Jew,” she reportedly wrote in her resignation letter to the STC boards.
Late on Wednesday, STC said in a statement that the company acknowledged that “the actions at the curtain call and our immediate response” had “hurt many in our community”.
“For this, we are deeply sorry.”
The statement said while the company supported individual freedom of expression it also believed that the right to free speech “does not supersede our responsibility to create safe workplaces and theatres”.
The company said it was still working to address the concerns raised over the protest, but did not address Hausmann’s resignation directly.
“Theatre is a place for exploring ideas with complexity and context,” the statement said.
“We recognise that artists bring their whole selves to our stages and in doing so, they bring a rich diversity of views and lived experience. We also recognise that when our audiences attend a production, they come to experience the content in that play and that play only, and that any exception to this needs to be done in consultation with the company and consideration of our duty of care.”
Guardian Australia has sought comment from artist management company Shanahan, which represents Greenwood. Comment has also been sought from agents representing the other two actors who took part in the protest, Megan Wilding and Mabel Li.
The protest has provoked both criticism and support on social media.
The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance’s acting chief executive, Adam Portelli, said in a statement: “MEAA respects the right of performers to freedom of opinion and expression, a right afforded to all Australians. As a union we will support all members should they face disciplinary action for simply exercising that right.”
The Seagull cast members’ protest is the latest action by artists and entertainers weighing in on the Israel-Hamas war. Collecting his album of the year award at the 2023 Aria music awards on 15 November, rapper Genesis Owusu called for a ceasefire in Gaza during his acceptance speech.
On Sunday, singer songwriter Deborah Conway wore a Star of David pendant and colours of the Israeli flag while performing at Mushroom Records’ 50th anniversary concert at Mebourne’s Rod Laver Arena. According to Channel 7, more than 800,000 watched the broadcast on the network.
Conway subsequently posted a photo and a lengthy statement on Facebook, saying: “We wore what we wore as an act of solidarity, of defiance, of kinship.”
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiemh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS9jdWx0dXJlLzIwMjMvbm92LzI5L3N5ZG5leS10aGVhdHJlLWNvbXBhbnktZGVlcGx5LXNvcnJ5LWFmdGVyLXByby1wYWxlc3Rpbmlhbi1wcm90ZXN0LW9uLXN0YWdl0gF6aHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL2N1bHR1cmUvMjAyMy9ub3YvMjkvc3lkbmV5LXRoZWF0cmUtY29tcGFueS1kZWVwbHktc29ycnktYWZ0ZXItcHJvLXBhbGVzdGluaWFuLXByb3Rlc3Qtb24tc3RhZ2U?oc=5
2023-11-29 14:00:00Z
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