Video emerges of second Sydney Theatre Company pro-Palestine protest in Canberra
The Sydney Theatre Company is in turmoil after it emerged actors gave a speech in support of Palestine at a performance in Canberra earlier this month.
The Sydney Theatre Company is in turmoil after a video emerged of actors giving a speech in support of Palestine at a performance of The Visitors in Canberra earlier this month.
It is the second pro-Palestine stunt posted online after three actors – led by Hollywood star Hugo Weaving’s son Harry Greenwood – wore Palestinian scarfs during the Sydney encore of the The Seagull on Saturday night.
Following the preview performance of the The Visitors on November 8, co-produced by the STC, cast members came back out onto the Canberra Theatre Centre stage and read out a statement calling for a ceasefire and demanding ‘more from our leaders’.
“This is a statement from the cast of The Visitors on the situation in Gaza,” it begins.
“The cast wanted to come back out and say, as a collective, that we are actively sending our love to those who are being severely oppressed right now. At this very moment.
“It is truly shocking and from our small corner we wanted to say that we see you.
“We can’t help but see the parallels between our story and theirs. So we stand here and share our grief of the situation in Gaza because if there’s one thing that we know how to do and do well, it’s grieve.”
They went on to ask the audience to “demand more … from the leaders of this country” and to scan a QR code that would take them to a petition calling for a ceasefire.
One of the actors in The Visitors Dalara Williams shared the video to Instagram on Thursday.
Other cast members of The Visitors include Elaine Crombie, Joseph Wunujaka Althouse and Beau Dean Riley Smith.
The STC has been contacted for comment, including whether it was aware of the comments by the cast, and what action it had taken.
The fresh crisis comes after a week of turbulence at the STC after three actors wore Palestinian keffiyeh during the encore of the The Seagull at the Roslyn Packer Theatre on Saturday.
The actors – who also included Mabel Li and Megan Wilding – later promoted the protest online as a condemnation of the “occupation” and “genocide” of Gaza.
The saga led to the resignation of two high-profile Foundation board members and the abrupt cancellation of a performance of The Seagull on Wednesday night due to what the STC called a “duty of care” issue.
The Australian revealed on Thursday that Carla Zampatti fashion house CEO Alex Schuman had resigned earlier this week over the onstage pro-Palestine stunt.
Mr Schuman, the son of Carla Zampatti and the brother of Independent Wentworth MP Allegra Spender, would not comment on his resignation but The Australian understands it was a result of Saturday’s events.
Prominent Sydney PR professional Judi Hausmann also quit the theatre company’s Foundation board after 15 years this week, telling acting chair Ann Johnson, Gretel Packer, and Danielle Heidbrink, she was “stunned” and “devastated” by its handling of the actors’ stunt.
Federal Arts Minister Tony Burke, who attended the performance on Saturday night, said he did not condemn protests where people were simply showing their “support in different ways”.
“Had they been wearing symbols of Hamas, that would have been appalling,” he told Sky News on Thursday.
He said while he “unequivocally condemns” the protests at a Melbourne hotel where the family of Israeli hostages were staying or any protests that involved hate speech, it would always be the case that people “would simply present a different view or (present) support in different ways”.
“In recent times, I’ve seen arts events where people have worn colours that are representative of the Palestinian people, colours that are representative of Israeli people, colours that are representative of Ukrainians. I’ve seen it all,” he said.
“I respect people will take whatever action they will take on the Sydney Theatre Company.”
The STC said in a public statement on Wednesday, ahead of the cancelled performance, it was “deeply sorry” for the hurt caused to thousands of Jewish patrons by an actors’ protest and the company’s own “immediate response”.
“We support individual freedom of expression but believe that the right to free speech does not supersede our responsibility to create safe workplaces and theatres,” the statement read.
“We believe that it was not the intent of the actors involved to cause any harm or offence. We have emphasised to our performers that they are free to express their opinions and views on their own platforms.”
The STC said it was “working to address concerns”, to “engage with community groups” and “review” its own policies.
“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,” the STC said.
The actors’ union, the MEAA, repeated its support of the three actors on Thursday, saying it “respects the rights of members to publicly express their views on this issue” and would assist or advise them if necessary.
Cast member, Mr Greenwood, is the son of Lord Of The Rings actor Hugo Weaving, who is also on the STC Foundation board.
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