Producers of Stitching claim discrimination

The producers of the banned play Stitching are claiming discrimination, accusing the board of censors of clearing two plays despite their graphic content.

Constitutional expert Ian Refalo, appearing for Unifaun Theatre Production Company, yesterday produced fresh evidence in the court appeal against the ban and also filed an application claiming discrimination.

The new evidence – two scripts from the plays Immaculate, by Oliver Lansley, and Osama The Hero, by Dennis Kelly – contained vulgar language and blasphemy, similar to the type that caused Stitching, by Anthony Neilson, to be banned in Malta, Prof. Refalo said yesterday.

The case goes back to June last year when Mr Justice Joseph Zammit Mckeon upheld a decision by classification board chairman Therese Friggieri to ban Stitching on grounds that it was offensive to the culture of the country in its broadest sense.

Prof. Refalo noted that the decision by the board to allow the two plays in question to be staged after having banned Stitching showed inconsistency in decision making and discrimination. Furthermore, the fact that both plays made it through the board’s vetting procedure indicated that the script was not understood or, rather, the board did not understand the visual and sensory aspects of the play.

There was nothing objectionable about the three plays because everything made sense once presented in a theatre, complete with scenes, lights, music and the actors’ interpretations on stage, he said.

The court had to consider the two plays that were allowed to be staged, Prof. Refalo said.

A decision on the matter is expected on May 17 and the court could then proceed to decide on the merits of the appeal.

Lawyers Sarah Grima and Michael Zammit Maempel also appeared for the production company.