Monday, 26th January 2009
Controversial play banned
A controversial play which discusses abortion has been banned from being staged locally, but the producer is intent on getting the decision overturned claiming it is unconstitutional.
Adrian Buckle, director of Unifaun Productions, said that after reviewing the script, the Maltese classifiers "banned and disallowed" the play. He wants to know the official reasons behind the decision.
He said the play, entitled Stitching, is about a relationship gone bad because of an unwanted pregnancy, and among other issues it discusses abortion. Mr Buckle said he could not go into further detail without giving away the plot and he was determined to put it on anyway.
Although there are some shocking instances in the play, Mr Buckle commented that some of his past productions, like Blasted and Paul, were more hard-hitting.
He is currently discussing the matter with his lawyers because he feels that the decision to ban the production goes against the EU's laws on freedom of expression.
The controversial play, by the Scottish writer Anthony Neilson, features characters assaulting each other with a dildo, and a woman mutilating and stitching up her private parts. When it was staged at the Edinburgh festival in 2002, some people walked out in disgust, according to reports in The Guardian newspaper.
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Comments
Nothing being forced upon you. If certain "Taboo" topics do not appeal to you, then you can avoid them easily... just don't buy a ticket.
On a final note directed to Igalea... shut up. Wake up and smell the coffee. Its the 21st century, the Middle Ages are long gone so end this Crusade of yours and let people decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong.
Now lets look at the situation here. A play has been banned. This is not a good sign. I think Mr Buckle should put the play on anyway. These people who are choosing for us, in my opinion, have committed a crime against freedom. if you don t like the play- don't go and watch it. not that hard to do is it? Or is this more to do with the fact that these censors have suddenly realised, as has the church, that they no longer have the blind obedience or the majority?
@Lgalea: Nothing you have said is relevant to the situation. Unless you thought that by quoting Canon Law we would be inspired by your dogma and lack of knowledge of theatre. You HAVE read the play, right?
Likewise, as a writer myself, I do not expect, nor do I condone, anyone telling me what I should read, write, or see. My senses are my own to use as I please.
And to equate the banning of a play with the "advertising" of drugs or abortion is like comparing oranges to monkeys. What do the arts have to do with advertising crime? Anyway, does this censorship apply only to plays and not TV or cinema? Rather discriminatory, innit?
I say - If you don't like it, stay at home or go elsewhere.
I may or may not like a place not because of content, but for a thousand different reasons. There should always be a clear indication of what a play, film, etc is about, but to decided whether I should watch it or not is insulting and patronising.
And seriously, type in the word 'dildo' on google and you will instantly have access to stuff far worse than any play!
An Austrian man locked his daughter in a basement, had intercourse with her and had about 7 children during the time she was locked up.
Is that what people normally do, locking their children in the basement, and abuse them?
Is that what you call reality?
get off your high horse sir. noone is 'running after' anyone with a dildo. let alone more than one dildo. the dildo in question in this play is used purely in context. the mutiliation is being misinterpreted and i'm not commenting on it as i don't want to ruin the ending of the play.
by your reasoning - Medea should never be staged. she kills her children for crying out loud. whatever next? What about Macbeth? all that murder and blood and dashing out of babies' brains! heaven forbid. Romeo and Juliet - THEY COMMIT SUICIDE. isn't that against the law and/or your christian beliefs? would you have those plays banned too?
noone is forcing you to come and watch. thankfully. i'd hate to have you in the audience to be frank. so don't come and watch - but don't sanctimoniously declare that because this isn't what you deem 'a play' then nobody else can watch it!
should i be trembling with fear with your quotation from the Canon Law ??
What consitutes a play is definitely not based on what the roman catholic church says ,so do away with the sermon-styled rhetoric and let ppl have their thoughts challenged.
Don't worry if you don't like these kind of plays no one will force you to attend; marginalise you cos of your choice or be accused that you're the "self-destruction" of the human race ! But guess what ? What has been presented to humankind as an infallible authority did take the liberty to make such statements.
And in case you might have insinuated or hinted excommunication - wake up, Medieval ages have gone by a few hundred yrs ago. I don't think anyone will have any sleepless nights cos they might get excommunicated.
The board's job is to classify, not filter the content!
BAN CENSORSHIP!
"The controversial play, by the Scottish writer Anthony Neilson, features characters assaulting each other with a dildo, and a woman mutilating and stitching up her private parts. When it was staged at the Edinburgh festival in 2002, some people walked out in disgust, according to reports in The Guardian newspaper."
Is that what people normally do, running after each other with dildos, and women mutilating their private parts and stitching them up?
Is that what you call a play?
Last year they were asking for censorship in Laughing Wild because a character was dressed as infant of prague, which talked about the fact that this "image" that the church held highly was a prime example of how the wayward the church is from Christ's actual intensions.
This year, same time of year, we have a play about a sexual diviance and abortion... and now this is bad as well... because people can't hear about people talking about these things...
I bet come next january and if have a play promoting free thinking, and it'd be censored, banned and probably erased from history.
How glad i am that we have these ALL KNOWING PEOPLE to tell me what i should and shouldn't see, who knows i may get ideas that aren't streamed to me by conventional media!
"I am against censorship, but would you allow the advertising and promotion of abortion or drugs?
That is the question."
Is the play explicitly encouraging people to commit a crime? No, it simply portrays people doing something which is a basic civil right in most countries, but that happens to be a crime in this isolated, backward, 16th Century, Church-run country of ours.
I am against censorship, but would you allow the advertising and promotion of abortion or drugs?
That is the question.
This play should go underground, as happens elsewhere.
This will be happening behind closed doors - for heaven's sake. The irony is that there is a huge probability this play (or parts of it) can be watched over the net. Better still, you may order the script or the novel (if it exists) over the internet, and it will be delivered to your doorstep.
So we're old enough to decide whether Malta should join the EU, we're old enough to decide who should lead the country for 5 years, but we're not mature enough to watch a controversial play. This is absolutely ridiculous.
mj
"A person who procures a successful abortion incurs an automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication."
You are either aginst censorship or not. Your comment does not make sense
I have no objection to classification, in which we are told what to expect - this allows people to make an informed choice. The idea of having material banned because of its subject matter is a different matter however.
If they ban this play because it discusses abortion, what would they do with a play or film that portrays murder? Oh wait, that would be half of all films so those are ok.
I sincerely hope that Mr. Buckle doesn't give up on this one.
The only question that remains is whether the play is promoting abortion in which case I agree that it should not be allowed.
I'm not saying we should approve abortion, but now
even discussing it and making a play about it is forbidden !
As long as the play is for adults only, I don't see any problem.
There are far more horrible things available on the internet
today than merely a play which involves abortion.
Simple .. if you don't like to watch ... don't !!