Ban on theatrical work 'could fuel new wave of censorship'

The Front Against Censorship said today that a court ruling which upheld the ban on the play Stitching would trigger a new wave of censorship on the arts and fuel the intolerance already present in society.

The front in a statement said it was shocked by by the decision of the court that the banning of the play did not amount to an infringement of the right of freedom of speech.

The court deemed that the artistic rendition of the artist's thoughts could have been expressed in another way, and that social considerations should prevail over the right of the artist to express himself in the way he desired, the front said.

"However the Front disagrees, because attending a play is a wilful act and thus one is not exposed to offensive material unless one deliberately chooses to be exposed to it. "

The court also said, the Front pointed out, that in choosing depravity to depict his thoughts, the artist's rendition was incompatible with Maltese civilization. It also said that a tolerant society could not accept that its values were be turned upside down in the name of freedom of speech.

"The Front is extremely doubtful how a play could have the potential to ' turn the values of society upside down'. It also doubts whether a society which censors the wilful viewing of art by adults deserves to be called civilised," the Front said.

The court also deemed that the classification board was right in defining the play as exalting perversion as if it were normal, and said that the play lowered human dignity.

The Front, however, said that in such cases, the intention of the author, and the context in which controversial material was used, should be considered. Such controversial depictions were an artistic device to show the angst of the protagonists in the play, and the author was not encouraging such behaviour.

The Front expressed solidarity with the producers and said that it feared that this court decision could trigger a new wave of censorship on the arts.

"This ruling does not help create a more open Maltese society, and it will only fuel the intolerance already present in it."

It therefore called for legislative reform which would include provisions to deny the classification board the power of censoring theatre shows for adults.