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Arab News
05-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Playwright Caryl Churchill pulls out of theater project over Barclays' ties to Israel
LONDON: Acclaimed playwright Caryl Churchill has withdrawn from a project with a London theater over its sponsorship by Barclays and the bank's links to companies supplying arms to Israel. In a statement, Churchill, who is a long-time advocate for Palestinian rights, called on the Donmar Warehouse to cut ties with Barclays. 'Theaters used to say they couldn't manage without tobacco sponsorship, but they do. Now it's time they stopped helping advertise banks that support what Israel is doing to Palestinians,' she said. The project had not yet been publicly announced but would have marked Churchill's return to the Donmar for the first time since 'Far Away' in 2020. Her move has been backed by more than 300 artists and arts workers, including actors Harriet Walter, Juliet Stevenson, Alfred Enoch, Samuel West and Tim Crouch, who signed an open letter in support. Barclays has faced increasing pressure from arts and activist groups over its provision of financial services to defense companies operating in Israel. In 2023, the group Culture Workers Against Genocide published a letter condemning Barclays' sponsorship of Sadler's Wells, with signatories including Maxine Peake, an actress. Last year, the Bands Boycott Barclays campaign led to the bank being dropped as a sponsor by several UK music festivals, including Latitude and The Great Escape. Barclays declined to comment on Churchill's withdrawal but said on its website: 'While we provide financial services to these companies, we are not making investments for Barclays and Barclays is not a 'shareholder' or 'investor' in that sense in relation to these companies.' Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan defended the bank's position in a 2023 Guardian article, writing: 'These companies are supported by our democratically elected governments for their role in protecting the UK and allies in Europe. We will not undermine our own national security by de-banking them.' Responding to Churchill's decision, Culture Workers Against Genocide said: 'Arts institutions have an ethical duty not to contribute to oppression and injustice. By continuing to accept sponsorship from Barclays, Donmar Warehouse is helping to launder the bank's reputation as it profits from Israel's genocide in Palestine.' The Donmar, which lost its £500,000 ($679,355) annual government grant in 2022, has increasingly relied on private support, including corporate sponsorships. It has been approached for comment. Churchill was previously stripped of a European lifetime achievement award in 2022 following criticism of her play 'Seven Jewish Children' and her public pro-Palestinian stance.
The Guardian
05-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Caryl Churchill pulls out of Donmar Warehouse project due to Barclays' Israel links
The playwright Caryl Churchill has pulled out of a project at the Donmar Warehouse, citing the organisation's sponsorship by Barclays and the bank's links to Israel. In a statement, Churchill, a longtime supporter of Palestinian rights, said that the London theatre should drop its association with the bank, which has been criticised for providing financial services to defence companies supplying Israel. She said: 'Theatres used to say they couldn't manage without tobacco sponsorship, but they do. Now it's time they stopped helping advertise banks that support what Israel is doing to Palestinians.' More than 300 arts workers and creatives, including actors Alfred Enoch, Samuel West, Tim Crouch, Harriet Walter and Juliet Stevenson have signed an open letter supporting Churchill's decision. The project Churchill was working on had not been announced but would have been the first time she had worked with the Donmar since 2020's Far Away. Barclays sponsorship has previously led to controversy at a UK arts organisation. In September 2024, the campaign group Culture Workers Against Genocide released an open letter – backed by Maxine Peake and signed by 1,000 others – aimed at pressuring Sadler's Wells to cut ties with Barclays. Last year the activist group Bands Boycott Barclays ran a successful campaign to get several music festivals – including Latitude and the Great Escape – to drop the bank as a sponsor. Barclays declined to comment. But the bank states on its website: 'While we provide financial services to these companies, we are not making investments for Barclays and Barclays is not a 'shareholder' or 'investor' in that sense in relation to these companies.' In June last year, CS Venkatakrishnan, the group chief executive of Barclays, wrote in the Guardian that the bank does 'finance some companies making defence equipment, alongside their civilian products'. He defended the decision, adding: 'These companies are supported by our democratically elected governments for their role in protecting the UK and allies in Europe. We will not undermine our own national security by de-banking them.' Culture Workers Against Genocide, who co-organised the open letter, said: 'Arts institutions have an ethical duty not to contribute to oppression and injustice. By continuing to accept sponsorship from Barclays, Donmar Warehouse is helping to launder the bank's reputation as it profits from Israel's genocide in Palestine.' Donmar Warehouse has been approached for comment. The Donmar receives no Arts Council England funding after losing its £500,000 annual grant in 2022. It seeks private funding from 'memberships, philanthropic donations, corporate partnerships, and grants.' In 2022, Churchill was deprived of the lifetime European Drama award she had received earlier in the year, due to criticism of her play Seven Jewish Children (which was called antisemitic by some critics) and her pro-Palestinian campaigning.
