Besties, we recently posted an article about the cancellation of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, due to play at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset next month. Some people went to town in the comments and on twitter, and we feel it’s our duty to address some of the comments.

Firstly, we want to apologise to the middle-eastern/North African/PoC performers who were wrongly scapegoated and blamed for the cancellation of this production. We did not help you, we enflamed the situation. We were wrong. 

Secondly, we want to acknowledge that you were probably not even given the opportunity to audition for a role; poor casting has nothing to do with your talent or ability.

Thirdly, the diversity of the location in which a show is due to take place does not negate the diversity of people we would be seeing on our stages.

There are many reasons that shows are cancelled and we, as consumers, expect a short, simple and direct reason as to why that may be. In all honesty, the cancellation of any show is rarely down to one particular reason but a series of circumstances that culminate to its cancellation.

We, at West End Best Friend, followed the trend when reporting on this event without first taking pause to check all the factors involved. That being said, the closing of a show due to lack of diversity is a really good reason to close a show! We ALL deserve to be represented. BESTIES, WE ALL COME IN DIFFERENT SHADES, SHAPES, ABILITIES, AGES AND SIZES, we think we all should be seen. 

Now we want to be clear, there really is no excuse for lack of diversity in the arts, especially in PROFESSIONAL theatre. Casting directors and production teams are being paid to deliver a piece of art as accurately and creatively as they can. Our PoC, Besties, are already unrepresented. The bare minimum that can be done is to cast culturally appropriately when the script/plot/show calls for it. The dream scenario; cast diversely when the script doesn’t call for it so we all get our moment in the lime light.

Here are some of the comments that we saw in relation to the post. 

“How racist insinuating a performer of white British Heritage isn’t as good as a performer of colour….”

Quite the opposite has taken place, Besties. No one has or will ever call into question the quality and excellence of white artists. In this case, they have been held to such high esteem that they have been deemed better at representing Middle Eastern and North African people, despite the direct association with these cultures the performers will have. 

No one is out to take away opportunities for our white performers; what we want is to increase the opportunities for everyone else. Joseph is a fun, family show, and the brothers are ordinarily a menagerie of ages, races and abilities. This only adds to the quality of the production. 

“Bloody stupid. I am not German, but am playing one in my next show. I bet there will be a total of zero complaints. I am also an atheist, but will also be playing the vicar. Or do I need to believe in God to play that role?”

Excellent point. Our Head of Diversity, Alanna, said that she was once privy to a conversation debating whether she should be in a scene because the audience would struggle to grasp that Black people would be in the higher classes of society in 1920.

As white performers, you can have the luxury of portraying characters from all over Europe and even the world. Whereas the relevance of people in colour is questioned, even when the show/script does not specify the necessity. This is why it should be a given that when a character isn’t white, it should be offered to people who meet the ethnical and cultural requirements of the role. As for playing a vicar, a dog collar can be removed. People of colour cannot remove their skin.

“This casting fiasco is beyond a joke now. It was deemed ok for a Japanese lad to play Billy in Billy Elliot. We've recently had a wonderful Black Cosette in Les Miserables and a Black actress (or should that be actor!!) as Jane Seymour, but all hell breaks loose if a white actor is allowed to play the part of a Middle Eastern person.”

We’ve had some wonderful Billy’s over the years of various ethnic backgrounds and it has been wonderful! Similarly with the roles of Cosette, Jane Seymour and Matilda. There are a number of shows that have had people of various ethnicities play the same role and that is the beauty and magic of theatre. These shows, these roles, are exactly what inclusivity and diversity are all about. Isn’t it fantastic! Where ethnicity isn’t integral to the plot, we should be casting different types of people to play the roles. The problem arises when it is integral to the plot/place and it is ignored. Note, the complaints against Joseph were regarding the lack of representation. To have a large cast and only 1 or 2 people of colour does not adequately represent the performance community, the show, or the UK, regardless of where the show is due to take place.

“I don't know quite what to say. We have been starved of good theatre for well over a year and rather than stage a performance and bring joy to the community, we have to cancel this event because we are unable to present a sufficiently diverse cast from an area where the population, let's face it, is not the most diverse. But let's not all get hung up on common sense. Who exactly has been offended here?”

We’ve all been starved of theatre. We are all desperate for theatre to return and excited for that day. Good theatre is a perspective, some will dislike the show but others adore it. Had the show been cast appropriately and this person been none the wiser, would offence have been caused by the presence of representation? Representation effects the few, not the majority. Professional theatre has a duty to us, as the consumer, to honour the material given. Just because you as an individual haven’t been offended doesn’t mean that the offence caused to anyone else is less valid or less painful.

“Typical of what this world is coming to… Let’s just pander to everyone who has a supposed gripe about anything decide[d] on a given day. (Eyeroll*)”

I can understand this perspective. If it has never directly affected you, how are you supposed to know it’s even a thing? You’re right, it’s much harder to “get away with it” now. Being called out on any given action is a great opportunity to learn and adjust behaviours accordingly. If your friend was being excluded for no reason, you would stand up for them, even though you, yourself, aren’t being excluded. That’s what we should be doing for all of our Besties in the arts who are being silenced or ignored. Just because it doesn’t affect you, doesn’t mean it’s not valid. 

The over-arching thing about diversity in theatre is that when it is present (& Juliet, Come from Away, Six, Les Miserables), the theatre community is excited and champions creativity. Yet when it is called out for not being diverse, people of colour are blamed and vilified, when they are the exact people being excluded from the room. The simple idea that bias was at play is a far greater tragedy than the actual exclusion people are experiencing. 

We all love theatre, that is why we are here. Theatre heals, entertains, educates and helps us grow. Everyone should have access to it, everyone should be represented in it. Historically, white people held the keys to this magical land and no one wants to take anything away from our white community. It’s time we made more opportunities for our Besties of colour, because they are just as important. One way we can do that is to step out of the way and let them have some creative input into how their stories are told, including in casting panels and production teams, and create space for representation. 

Much love, Besties. We’ve got this.