Go to anti-misogyny lessons? Succession star Brian Cox channels his inner Logan Roy as he says he is 'f****** sick' of woke sensitivity training
And it seems Brian Cox thought much the same as his Succession character would as he gave typically short shrift to lessons that he is required to take before his upcoming play.
The Scottish actor, 79, told The Mail on Sunday: 'It's all so proper, and I'm so f****** sick of proper. It's all very conditioned and it's about as deep as a blackhead, quite frankly.
'I'm a bit long in the tooth to do any anti-misogyny training. It's for much younger people than me.'
Cox is returning to the stage in his home country for the first time in a decade to star in Make It Happen, a satire of the downfall of the Royal Bank of Scotland during the 2008 financial crisis.
He will star as the ghost of Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith in the play, written by James Graham and directed by Adam Panton.
The National Theatre of Scotland, which is staging the production, also asked white actors to attend anti-racism training – saying it was 'not compulsory for people of colour or from the global majority [which includes anyone who is not white]'.
However, following a complaint from the Free Speech Union that the policy treated 'members of one racial group less favourably', the theatre ordered a review.
It is now understood that black actors have been told to attend the training as well.
The Free Speech Union reported the theatre to the UK equality watchdog under the Equality Act, which prohibits employers from treating staff differently based on race, skin colour, nationality and ethnic origin.
Cox told the MoS he was feeling 'all right' about starting rehearsals for the play, which will open at the Edinburgh International Festival on July 30.
He celebrated his birthday last week at the Berkshire Film Festival in Massachusetts, where he was a guest of honour.
The National Theatre of Scotland said: 'We acknowledge that use of the correct language around the offer of this training is important and this is currently under review.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
a minute ago
- Daily Mail
Prince William and Kate Middleton's romance bubbled away before most people realised… as royal author reveals secrets about their early relationship
'Wow, Kate's hot!', Prince William said to his Eton classmate Fergus Boyd as he watched his future wife strut in a sheer dress and black underwear. In April 2002, Kate Middleton took part in the DONT WALK charity gala at Fairmont St Andrews Hotel when she decided to wear what was originally a skirt - designed by textiles student Charlotte Todd - as a mini-dress.
BBC News
4 minutes ago
- BBC News
Teens take over Scunthorpe in free event
Young people are to take over Scunthorpe at a free summer event. Teen Takeover will take place on 20 August from 11:00 to 16:00 BST at Queen Elizabeth Memorial Gardens, 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, and Scunthorpe Central event will include music, creativity, entertainment, and advice ahead of GCSE results Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: "Teen Takeover is a fantastic example of how we are supporting young people with free, engaging activities that have been designed around what they have told us they want to see." A highlight of the day will be Imagi-con, a mini comic-con experience featuring sci-fi characters, cosplay, crafts, face painting, DJs, and gaming. Visitors can have their picture taken with the Ghostbusters' Ecto-1 and the Bumblebee Transformer Queen Elizabeth Memorial Gardens, there will be a roller rink disco, a BMX versus Parkour stunt show, and interactive music sessions with The School of Beatbox. The gardens will also host a Teen Chill Out Zone, while Lab Rascals will lead slime-making workshops and a giant ice sculpture in Youth will bring their gaming bus and run sports challenges nearby, and Scunthorpe Central Library will offer Ready, Steady, Cook sessions using air UTC Engineering College zone will invite visitors to try hands-on STEM activities and enjoy a picnic space. There will be live music performances from local youngsters throughout the people will also be able to access advice on education and career options, get help with CVs, and speak to teams offering information on next said: "It's also a great boost for the town centre, bringing hundreds of young people and families into Scunthorpe for the day, which we hope will provide a real benefit to local shops, cafés and other businesses."Teen Takeover is part of the council's wider programme of free summer activities taking place across the school holidays. Everything on the day is free to take part in and no booking is required. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
BBC News
4 minutes ago
- BBC News
How a Cheshire woman conquered Spotify with her 'weird' podcast
"I don't think there's really a blueprint for how it should feel when something like that happens, but it was probably one of the most surreal moments of my life."YouTuber, turned TikToker, turned podcaster Chyaz Samuel has always loved strange-but-true stories, ever since she was a the pandemic, the freelance presenter decided to put that passion to good use and, from her spare room in her south Cheshire home, created the Things Are About to Get Weird podcast in then, the 71 episodes combined have been downloaded more than a million times and it also had a stint at the top of Spotify's true crime chart and broke into the top 10 of all UK podcasts. "I was just at home on my own when I found out, which is kind of fitting as I'm a one-woman band and do this all on my own," she said."I shed a tear - I'm a very emotional person anyway but it just felt incredible and I didn't really know what to do." Samuel was no stranger to online attention – she began her content creation career on YouTube in 2009, specialising in alternative music and fashion.A video she made in 2010 on how to recreate Avril Lavigne's look from the Girlfriend music video garnered 1.2m would later continue that style of content on TikTok, where she has more than 180,000 followers, before she began her podcast stories she has covered on Things Are About to Get Weird included her first episode on Ursula and Sabina Eriksson – the twins who came to national attention following an incident on the M6 in said she comes up with the ideas, does the research, writes the scripts, records the podcast, edits the audio and handles the social media by said the amount of work and type of research "varies from topic to topic" and highlighted her episode exploring sleep paralysis."I actually talked to people who experienced it and read scientific papers about it," she said. "Other times it will be historical documents, if it's a story that's really steeped in history. It's always nice to do something different every time." Samuel said she would often get suggestions for episodes from listeners eager to hear her cover little-known tales."There's always going to be stories that you haven't heard of and I love to cover those - the ones that are slightly off the beaten track," she makes her podcast alongside her freelance work as a presenter and content creator, which has previously included interviewing Game of Thrones actor Maisie Williams for the workload and suggestions from followers, Samuel said she would "never use" artificial intelligence as part of her process."For me, as a creative, that just completely defeats the purpose," she said. "I started this podcast because I love the stories and I love the research."Samuel has temporarily scaled back the frequency of her episodes to one per month but hopes to return to her previous fortnightly schedule in the near encouraged anyone else who was thinking about starting a podcast to "give it a go"."My biggest piece of advice is, before you click record, sit down and make sure that you have your concept, so you know exactly what you want to do and what you want to achieve," she added. Read more Cheshire stories from the BBC and follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
