Despite controversy that resulted in cancellation of performances in New York and Toronto, a play about an American activist killed in Gaza opened this month at the Arts Court Theatre in Ottawa.
My Name is Rachel Corrie tells the story of a 23-year-old American activist during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Corrie was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer while trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in 2003.
Ottawa-based actress Sarah McVie, who plays the title character, says she heard previous cancellations happened because of pressure from Jewish or Pro-Israeli groups who denounced it as anti-semitic of anti-Israel.
Jewish lobby groups protested the play in New York, leading to its cancellation. It was also cancelled at Toronto’s Canadian Stage Company,
Canadian playwright Arthur Milner says although the artistic director cited artistic reasons, one of its board members approached media and voiced concerns over the subject matter of the play.
Milner suggests that the show was probably cancelled in both cities because of concerns over funding.
“I find it pretty unnerving that arts groups give in to that kind of thing,” says Milner.
In Ottawa, the play is produced by the independent Vision Theatre. Sam Awwad company’s artistic producer says independent theatre companies like Vision can’t be persuaded to cancel a show with financial threats, since they don’t rely on private funders.
Joseph Alexander Norland, an Ottawa resident and supporter of Israel says it is an insult to Canadian troops fighting in Afghanistan that the play be shown here.
He says he objects to his tax dollars funding such a play and since the Arts Court Theatre is publicly funded he sent complaints to the theatre and the city.
He says he does not support censorship in a free country, and would not get involved had the venue been privately funded.
Awwad said he understands the political context of the controversy.
“Because that conflict is so polarized, extremists will try to turn this play into whatever they want it to be, rather than what it is… the human aspect,” he says.
Milner adds that he was appalled other companies let financial pressures censor them, stating that “the reason for theatre companies to exist is to tell us difficult things.” He compares the situation to a newspaper censoring article content because of advertisers pulling out.