Censorship play company 'almost' pulled plug on Festival run

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

The company has posted a video mocking the restrictions it claims to have faced in the run-up to the opening night of the production, which is billed as 'daring, thought-provoking theatre that refuses to shy away from the truth.'
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Its show, which will be running at the Church Hill Theatre in Morningside over the next few days, is said to explore 'the ever-tightening grip of censorship on artistic freedom.'
The video created by the cast and shared on the social media platform Instagram suggests that the arts sector is 'awash with dirty money.'
Cutting the Tightrope is being performed at the Edinburgh International Festival. (Image: Ali Wright)
The company's performers poke fun at this year's EIF theme, The Truth We Seek, highlights the number of restrictions in their EIF contracts on what they 'can and cannot say,' and explores the link between Baillie Gifford and defence giant Babcock International.
The EIF has come under growing pressure in recent weeks from pro-Palestine campaigners to sever its links with the Edinburgh-based investment company.
The Art Workers for Palestine group has previously asked EIF performers, arts industry workers and audience members to back an open letter calling for the 78-year-old to drop Baillie Gifford, which has been targeted over its investments in firms which have been linked with Israel.
Cutting the Tightrope, which is being performed in Scotland for the first time, was launched by the London-based theatre company Arcola last year.
The show was partly inspired by controversial new guidance issued by Arts Council England warning that political statements made by companies and artists which cause 'reputational risk' could breach funding agreements.
The show, which was also said to have been created in response to 'silence around Palestine on UK stages,' consists of a series of short plays exploring 'the power of the arts in today's world events, political resistance and displays of artistic freedom.'
Writing on the EIF website, festival director Nicola Benedetti describes Cutting the Tightrope as an 'urgent artistic response to that moment and audaciously explores the power of the arts in today's world events, political resistance and dialogue around artistic freedom."
Cutting the Tightrope's video, which is partly bleeped out, has emerged in the wake of claims that the EIF has tried to gag artists and performers appearing in this year's event.
The Art Workers for Palestine group has published an exchange of emails which suggests visiting companies have been warned against doing anything which may affect the reputation of the festival or any of its sponsors.
However the EIF has insisted that clauses in the contracts of artists are "standard provisions" used across the UK arts sector.
At the start of Cutting the Tightrope's video, one of the company says: "Today we want to talk about truth. We are currently in rehearsals for our run at the Edinburgh International Festival. We're really excited to bring this to you.
'It's a really fantastic show, and you know what? We almost didn't do it, but we ultimately decided that it's more important to tell these stories on that stage, especially at this current point in time, and we thought we could raise some awareness while we're doing it.'
Another performer says: 'We just had to check our contracts, because this year, there are quite a lot of clauses in the contract about what we can and can't say, particularly in relation to the festival and their sponsors.
'You see, Baillie Gifford is one of the EIF biggest institutional funders. It's a Scottish investment firm, which in turn holds millions in arms and fossil fuel companies.'
A third member of the company said: 'We decided to take up this space and tell these stories that need to be told in a sector that is, when you really look at it, quite disgustingly awash with dirty money.'
The video ends with the message: 'Come watch our show, Cutting the Tightrope, where we tackle issues of censorship in the arts scene, as part of the Edinburgh International Festival, whose theme this year is The Truth We Seek."
A spokesperson for the EIF said: 'We're proud to be the only international festival to present Cutting the Tightrope this year.
'Having sought out this collection of plays at the Arcola Theatre, we issued an invitation to the festival because we believed in its artistic potential and its daring, important themes.
'The plays sit alongside a number of powerful productions we have selected this year to tackle urgent global issues head-on, from a range of perspectives, reflecting our theme.
'It is often our role to boldly programme work that others would not. We give voice to artists, and create a platform for important questions to be addressed artistically with nuance and empathy.
'As Cutting The Tightrope do-director Kirsty Housley said in the audio introduction to this work: 'The platform that Edinburgh International Festival are giving us feels really important. It's the first time we've ever received proper organisational support. It means that we have access to a different audience, a wider audience, an international audience, as well as the local Edinburgh audience, but also, just have infrastructure around us.'
'We are also proud of the longstanding support we have received from Baillie Gifford over the past two decades. We believe that Baillie Gifford's investment principles and portfolio are being mis-characterised and we encourage anyone commenting on this to ensure their own factual accuracy.
'We have always been transparent and forthright with artists about the essential mix of public and private funding that the festival requires. We recognise that people have different personal views on this subject and support the right for these to be expressed.
"The festival doesn't prevent anyone from expressing their political views and we support we are giving artists a significant international platform for their work. We look forward to introducing these powerful plays to new audiences, and now more than ever, these important stories deserve to be heard.'
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