Sydney Theatre Company acting chair Ann Johnson condemns Hamas as company forges ‘alternative path’

Ann Johnson tells donors the organisation will forge an ‘alternative’ path through its internal crisis that seeks common ground rather than division.

Harry Greenwood (R) along with co-stars Megan Wilding (2nd R) and Mabel Li (L) wore keffiyeh scarves during the encore at the opening night of the STC production of The Seagull at Sydney’s Roslyn Packer Theatre. Picture: Instagram

The acting chair of the Sydney Theatre Company has said the “stakes are very high” as she told donors the organisation would forge an “alternative” path forward through its internal crisis – amid the Israel Palestine global crisis – that sought common ground, rather than “entrenched division”.

It comes amid the continued fallout from cast members of its production The Seagull donning traditional keffiyeh headdress during the run’s opening night encore in a pro-Palestine stance, as well as thousands of creatives across the country gearing up to don the Palestinian scarf on stages on Wednesday.

Acting chair Ann Johnson – standing in the stead of incoming, but absent, chair Alan Joyce – emailed donors across the weekend, acknowledging that “longstanding” patrons “felt let down by the STC”.

“The stakes are very high – the world has changed,” Ms Johnson wrote to STC donors, acknowledging it had been a “long and hard” two weeks.

She called Hamas’s October 7 attacks “abhorrent” and noted with “great concern” the rise of anti-Semitism, while also recognising the conflict in Gaza was “horrific and deeply distressing”.

STC acting chair Ann Johnson. Picture: Philanthropy Australia

“The depth of feeling, level of grief, fear, anguish and sadness in our community is heartbreaking,” Ms Johnson wrote.

“The conversations and correspondence that STC has had during these past two weeks has shown a spillover between arguments over the conflict in Gaza, and arguments about racism and prejudice.

“The debate is not simple, but the STC unequivocally stands against anti-Semitism, racism and prejudice of all forms, against all people.”

Ms Johnson said the company was at a crossroads: to follow a route of “more entrenched division” or an “alternative path”.

“One which recognises some intractable differences in views, yet finds some common ground as to how to live respectfully with those differences,” she wrote.

“This latter path is hard, as we are experiencing now.”

On Monday, writer Ruth Ritchie became the third member of the STC’s foundational board to resign, citing its “silence”.

Former Qantas boss Alan Joyce is the incoming STC chair, but has not made any public statement on the crisis. Picture: Padraig O'Reilly.

The board also includes actors Mia Wasikowska and Heather Mitchell, performer Tim Minchin and philanthropists Gretel Packer and Frances Ingham, as well as actor Hugo Weaving, father of one the protesters, Harry Greenwood.

The STC at large has been thrust into the spotlight after three of The Seagull’s cast donned keffiyehs on opening night.

A host of Jewish leaders criticised the actors and company, which saw an open letter with thousands of signatories sent to the STC demanding an explanation and more thorough apology.

Donors said they’d pull funding before the company issued a full public apology on November 29, apologising to patrons and saying that creating a safe space trumped personal freedoms.

The performance of The Seagull that night, set to start only a few hours after the statement was issued, was then promptly cancelled.

It comes on the eve of thousands of actors, musicians and theatre-makers set to don keffiyehs on Wednesday in support of an immediate ceasefire.

The ‘Creatives for Palestine’ letter, signed by more than 3000 creatives, also called on the prime minister to back a withdrawal of Israel from Palestinian territories.

Abbie Chatfield is a signatory to the Creatives for Palestine letter. Picture: Richard Dobson

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said the letter “pushed fanciful allegations”.

“It implies solidarity with Indigenous people, but ignores Jewish indigeneity to the Land of Israel,” he said.

“It doesn’t mention the 75 years of Palestinian rejectionism that led to the lack of peace or the depraved Hamas attack that led to this war.”

It comes as Live Performance Australia – the peak industry body, which represents theatres, venues and performing arts companies – distributed a new template code of conduct that said workers “must not engage in conduct or express opinion” that could damage the public image or reputation of the company.

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler. Picture: Jenny Evans

That would include actors of a theatre company, although the clause’s inclusion was not in response to the pro-Palestine stances seen across theatres.

The clause includes that “workers must not engage in conduct or express opinion” that could: damage or be inconsistent with a company’s public image, negatively impact its economic interests, constitute a conflict of interest, or create disharmony in the workplace, “including being offensive to patrons, audience members or board members”, among others.

Live Performance Australia chief executive Evelyn Richardson said the code of conduct had been “under review throughout the year” and was not compulsory.

“The code applies to all workplace conduct, it is not specific to current events,” she said.

Ms Richardson said “context was important” and the code’s application would “vary from one company to another”.

“The template does not proscribe the content of speech – rather, the test would be the consequence of that conduct,” she said.