Hugh Sheridan musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch cancelled after outrage from transgender activists

Australian actor Hugh Sheridan was set to star in the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, however it has since been cancelled after criticism.

Australian actor Hugh Sheridan was set to star in the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, however the production has been cancelled after transgender activists criticised the casting.

The musical was removed from the 2021 Sydney Festival right after an LGBTQIA+ group roasted the producers of the show for casting the actor to play a trans character.

In an open letter, the Queer Artist Alliance Australia said it was “offensive” that Sheridan had been cast as the lead role of Hedwig Robinson, instead of a transgender person.

“The choice to cast a cis-gender male as a transgender character is offensive and damaging to the trans community, and continues to cause genuine stress and frustration amongst trans and gender non conforming performers all across Australia,” the group wrote.

Hugh Sheridan made up as Hedwig, from the musical.

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“It is unquestionable Hugh is a talented and deserving actor,” the group wrote, however it said “it is not appropriate for a cis actor to be the gatekeeper of a trans story.”

In response, the Hedwig and the Angry Inch team released a statement saying that they took the casting issue “very seriously” and made the “difficult” decision to suspend the season.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch follows “the journey of a young East Berlin man who has a sex change as part of a plan to escape to the capitalist west” as the synopsis reads.

“But the operation is botched, and Hedwig’s angry inch refers to his anatomical stump created by the surgeon’s inept knife.”

Earlier this year Sheridan revealed that he was a member of the LGBT community. He said he had relationships with both men and women.

Entertainment reporter Peter Ford claimed that this was “not enough” for the casting.

“I can’t help but feel that there’s more to this than what meets the eye,” he told The Morning Show.

“I feel for all of those performers, all the backstage people who have had a horrible year, who were so thrilled to have work again and have now been told that it’s not happening.”

The values of equality and inclusivity have long guided the work of Sydney Festival. With these values in mind, the festival supports the producer’s decision to postpone the January season of 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch.'

Full statement: pic.twitter.com/okPFQUArR2

— Sydney Festival (@sydney_festival) November 17, 2020

Casey Donovan has also been cast in the musical.