David Fine: Pushing boundaries? Why would a festival not stand behind its decision to support free expression of ideas?

More on the cancel culture in the arts and its uneven application:

Cancelling a challenging and thought-provoking work such as The Runner is no less antithetical to exactly what PuSh rightfully stands for. PuSh originally stood by the production after it had been cancelled by the Belfry Theatre in Victoria, but capitulated when another PuSh invitee threatened to pull his work if The Runner was performed.

The artist, U.K.-based Palestinian Basel Zaraa, was presenting a work titled Dear Laila, which speaks vividly of the Palestinian experience. How inappropriate it would have been if the shoe were on the other foot and Morris had demanded the cancellation of this vital work by a Palestinian artist.

How can one artist can demand a festival remove a work already agreed upon and planned? Why would a festival not stand behind its decision to support free expression of ideas, especially challenging ones dealing with issues that are especially relevant right now?

There was also an open letter signed by “concerned members of Vancouver’s multiracial communities” seeking to pressure PuSh to cancel the play. The letter is a detailed critique of character and narrative, but it goes further, making the shocking claim that the widely corroborated rape and torture of Israeli women were “sensationalistic and unproven allegations of sexual violence by Palestinian fighters.”

Besides seeking to cancel The Runner, the letter also seeks to sanitize the horror of Oct. 7, referring to the Hamas terrorists who committed the atrocities of that day as “Palestinian fighters.”

Denying and sanitizing the horror of Oct. 7 is shocking, and I truly hope that this letter was not instrumental in forming PuSh’s decision, but the letter writers are certainly claiming victory anyway, and that is worrying.

The Runner is not an instrument of Israeli propaganda — in fact it is said to question Israeli policy. It has been described by one critic as “one of the finest plays I’ve had the honour to write about. It unsettles as art should.” Indeed, art should unsettle.

Both The Runner and Dear Laila are exactly the kind of works that should be shown, discussed, criticized and challenged. That’s what makes PuSh vital and relevant. I resist the term “cancel culture” because that is the domain of the reactionary right. This is an attempt to demonize an Israeli perspective, even in the context of a work such as this, which is not meant to glorify  or support Israeli policy. At least as I understand from other comments and reviews. I can’t speak to this directly because I have been deprived of the opportunity to see the play myself.

Vancouver Coun. Sarah Kirby Young shared her intention not to attend PuSh because of the decision. The city of Vancouver supports PuSh and I hope they might have a conversation about policy and censorship. I do not want PuSh to be cancelled. That would be completely hypocritical, but I do hope that parties who support PuSH might encourage a dialogue in the hope that they might review the decision — albeit after the fact — to abruptly cancel a production because another invitee demanded it.

Morris shared his disappointment in a statement on PuSh’s blog: “It’s unsettling when Canadian theatres cannot be a space for the public to engage in a dynamic exchange of ideas. I believe theatre must be a place where contrasting perspectives are programmed and celebrated. Now more than ever, we need to listen to each other, engage in different viewpoints, and find our shared humanity.”

At the same time, he was also unbelievably gracious: ”If removing  The Runner  is the only way Canadians can hear Basel’s crucial voice, then there is value in stepping aside.”

I wish Zaraa and the PuSh Festival might have shown the same grace.

David Fine is a filmmaker in Vancouver. 

Source: David Fine: Pushing boundaries? Why would a festival not stand behind its decision to support free expression of ideas?