The chief executive of Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre has stepped down after a censorship row erupted over the cancellation of a Shakespearean production.
Performances of the modern adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream were paused due to references made to the Israel-Gaza war and transgender rights.
After an independent review criticised the theatre’s leadership, Stephen Freeman, who was appointed chief executive in 2018, said he was standing down “for personal reasons linked to the impact of the last few months”.
Despite its criticisms, the independent review found that “management’s actions did not constitute censorship”.
Woke adaptation of Shakespeare with references to Gaza and trans rights is cancelledPAFreeman said he was “comforted that the report has concluded that censorship was not at play”.
The disagreement between the theatre and the production company first arose after it emerged that the performance included a song referring to transgender rights and the phrase “Free Palestine”.
After the references were revealed in an internal preview, further previews were postponed and later cancelled.
Theatre management cited different reasons for cancellations, including technical difficulties, before cancelling the entire run days later.
Director Stef O’Driscoll told theatre publication The Stage that the executive staff at the theatre informed her the production could not go ahead unless the phrases “trans rights” and “Free Palestine” were removed.
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A Midsummer’s Night Dream was due to be shown until October 12 last year
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Addressing the situation, O’Driscoll highlighted “a lack of proper and rigorous artistic support”.
She has said there was “a growing trend of censorship and fear-driven decision-making in the arts”.
O’Driscoll said: “As artists, we are losing the very spaces that are meant to challenge, provoke and speak to the issues of our time.”
Cultural organisation People Make It Work had been commissioned to conduct an independent review and concluded that there was a “failure to maintain robust support”.
The review said: “The theatre has a history of producing bold, brave and ambitious work but its handling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream revealed significant systemic organisational and leadership failures rather than the deliberate suppression of political content.”
“A lack of senior artistic leadership and properly-documented producing processes created conditions where legitimate concerns about artistic developments in the production became entangled with allegations of censorship.”
The Royal Theatre Exchange confirmed the show had been cancelledROYAL THEATRE EXCHANGEFollowing this review, Freeman resigned, saying: “I wish to make it clear that this is my decision, and mine alone.
“More needs to be done to support relationships between artists and institutions. This is where our collective power exists to make a real difference in the world, and I want to focus my attention on this area in the future.”
The theatre’s board has said it acknowledges its failings and “apologises to all those involved in the production, whose work was not able to be seen, as well as to staff and audiences for these shortcomings”.
They have also thanked Freeman “for his commitment and passion for the Royal Exchange Theatre, its programme and its people”.
They recognised that “his hard work to steer the organisation, in particular through the multiple Covid closures, ensured the business continued to serve our community and to thrive”.
Selina Cartmell will share responsibility of Freeman’s role with another person who is yet to be recruited.