Theatre stunt slammed
"It is not the place to impose the political views of a few onto the many or to marginalise Jewish audiences and actors," says Jillian Segal.
A Jewish board member has quit and patrons have threatened to cancel their subscriptions to the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) after three actors held an on-stage protest against Israel’s operation in Gaza on Saturday night.
During the encore of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, actors Harry Greenwood – the son of Hugo Weaving – Megan Wilding and Mabel Li wore Palestinian scarves.
Greenwood later shared another user’s post to social media with a photo of the trio and a caption accusing Israel of “continued violence and occupation of the Palestinian people”.
An STC spokesperson told The Australian the theatre did not know about the protest ahead of time and did not endorse it.
But noting the disproportionate support for the arts in the Jewish community, long-term STC supporter Daniel Grynberg said he was unmoved.
“As far as this one-time subscriber and supporter is concerned, you simply don’t care … And that is your right. But is it my right to judge you for it. And it is my right to decide where to take my custom,” he wrote on Facebook.
Performer, businesswoman and playwright Tania de Jong, who has joined over a thousand signatories calling for the actors to be sacked, said, “The arts should never seek to divide, censor and create further trauma in this deeply troubled civilisation.”
Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council director of public affairs Walt Secord, who served as NSW shadow minister for the arts from 2015 to 2022 and is a STC regular said he was “deeply disappointed”.
“The amateurish attempt to try to link The Seagull to the Israel–Hamas war shows how unsophisticated those behind this stunt are and how little they know about the conflict. They should be embarrassed,” he said.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry outgoing president Jillian Segal said, “Theatre is intended to enrich and uplift us, and unite us through the shared love of the art form.
“It is not the place to impose the political views of a few onto the many or to marginalise Jewish audiences and actors.”
The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has backed the actors.
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