Kingsley Ben-Adir, Khalid Abdalla, Pooja Ghai and April De Angelis are among 200+ arts and theatre figures who have signed an open letter to Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre condemning the theatre for censoring references to  Palestinian and trans liberation in a recently commissioned work.

The letter criticises the cancellation of director Stef O’Driscoll’s updated version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream which the signatories say interpreted the play through: “the lens of contemporary rave culture (…)  and the diversity and cultural richness that Manchester is known for”.

The signatories who include playwrights, directors, performers and artists nearly half of whom live or work in Manchester, go on to express their dismay that the publicly funded institution would: “censor a call for Palestinian freedom almost a year into Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza”

The artists say the efforts to remove references to trans rights is: “unjustifiable at a time of heightened anti-trans violence and political incitement from UK politicians and parts of the media”.

Royal Exchange Theatres censored the phrases “Free Palestine” and the theatre attempted to censor of “trans rights”, according to a statement from director Stef O’Driscoll.

The artists call on the theatre to apologise and “take meaningful and measurable action to address its serious failings”.

The open letter in full:

We artists and cultural workers write in condemnation of the Royal Exchange Theatre’s censorship of expressions of solidarity with Palestinians and with the trans community, leading to the cancellation of its production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Stef O’Driscoll.

A highly respected theatre director, O’Driscoll is known for her engagement with decolonial politics and her commitment to collective liberation. O’Driscoll has explained that this production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream explored the play through the lens of contemporary rave culture, with the staging reflecting that subculture’s tradition of political activism, and the diversity and cultural richness that Manchester is known for.

The Exchange’s recent statement makes misleading claims about the production’s lack of a “cohesive narrative” as an excuse for their actions, which is clearly refuted by director Stef O’Driscoll in her earlier statement. The Exchange does not include the phrases “free Palestine” or “trans rights” at any point in their statement, instead making vague references to “complex issues”. The phrases “free Palestine” and “trans rights” are simple declarations of basic human rights. Their characterisation as “complex issues” by the Exchange is an obstructing attempt to evade accountability.

We condemn this racist and transphobic act of censorship by the Royal Exchange Theatre.

That a public institution would censor a call for Palestinian freedom almost a year into Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza – armed and backed by the UK and other Western states, silencing Palestinian artists by killing them and destroying their cultural infrastructure – shows a shocking level of complicity in shielding Israel from accountability. The attempt to censor references to trans rights is also unjustifiable at a time of heightened anti-trans violence and political incitement from UK politicians and parts of the media.

The Royal Exchange Theatre is a building with historical links to the slave trade in a city made rich by its part in the cotton industry, built on the labour of enslaved Africans. The Royal Exchange therefore cannot claim to be an apolitical space standing apart from past and current colonial violence. The only way for UK arts institutions to oppose systemic exploitation, politically-motivated dehumanisation of marginalised communities, and UK complicity in ongoing colonial violence and genocide, is to actively support the equality, dignity and liberation of all oppressed people.

We know many workers at the Royal Exchange share our disgust at the actions of the Royal Exchange leadership. This letter is a demand for the Royal Exchange leadership to fully apologise for silencing calls for equal rights and liberation, and to commit to taking meaningful, measurable and transparent action to address its serious failings.

As artists and cultural workers, we support the fundamental equality and dignity of Palestinians and the trans community. We support collective liberation and freedom from occupation, apartheid and violent oppression. We support the right of UK artists to express solidarity with marginalised communities, and the right of artists from marginalised communities to participate in the arts and assert their intrinsic rights.

If cultural institutions do not freely allow artists to express the desire for freedom, equality and collective liberation, these institutions never truly belonged to us. If a theatre does not extend its welcome to Palestinians, trans people and their allies, it is not fit to represent our communities.

We demand that:

1. The Royal Exchange apologise for attempting to silence expressions of Palestinian and trans liberation.

In their own Vision & Mission statement, the Royal Exchange claims “we will apologise when we have done something wrong.” In the Policies section of their website, the Royal Exchange states, “we value being transparent with all our audiences, customers, visitors, clients, staff, artists, freelancers and volunteers.”

2. The Royal Exchange acknowledges that these attempts to silence expressions of collective liberation were racist and transphobic.

At least 41,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s genocide in Gaza, with a letter in the Lancet estimating that the toll could reach 186,000. Trans people in the UK are facing a record number of hate crimes fueled by dehumanisation from politicians, healthcare systems, and parts of the media.

3. The Royal Exchange clarifies its own position on racism, transphobia and collective liberation.

How can the Royal Exchange support trans artists and artists from the Global Majority when it does not allow expressions of their right to live freely? How can the Royal Exchange value “equality, diversity and inclusion” while silencing support for those facing violent exclusion, oppression, and murder based on their nationality, race, ethnicity, and/or gender identity.

4. The Royal Exchange takes meaningful and measurable action to address its serious failings.

The Royal Exchange must make a public commitment to ensure that expressions of Palestinian and trans liberation (as well as all other struggles for equal rights and collective liberation) are never again silenced in its productions. This public commitment must be made in consultation with Palestinians, trans people, other marginalised communities, and members of the arts community to create measurable objectives, deadlines, and results. Royal Exchange leadership should hold regular meetings throughout this process that engage with the aforementioned groups in order to ensure that calls for liberation and freedom from oppression are never again silenced within its walls.

Signed in solidarity with Palestinians, trans people, and  all struggling for their rights and liberation.

If you work in the arts, please add your name here.  Signatories:

Khalid Abdalla Actor

Kingsley Ben-Adir Actor

April De Angelis Playwright

Bill Bankes-Jones Director

Naomi Evans Author: Everyday Racism

Pooja Ghai Artistic Director: Tamasha

Enyi Okoronkwo Actor

Valerie Synmoie Theatre Executive Director: Tamasha

Adele Thomas Opera Director

Daniel York Loh Writer / Actor

Sînziana Cojocărescu Artistic Director: BÉZNĂ Theatre

Ruth Daniel CEO: In Place Of War

Yara Rodrigues Fowler Novelist

Emma Reynolds Illustrator and Author

Lucy Sheen Actor / Writer / Director and Filmmaker: BEATS.org

Dani Abulhawa Director / Performer / Academic

Faiza Abdulkadir Fundraiser: HighRise Theatre

Elina Akhmetova Dance / Theatre / Film / Performance & Choreography

Alia Alzougbi Artists & Cultural Producer

Ravina Al-Zarifa Supporting Artist

Alan Jones Photographer

Audrey Albert Visual Artist

Heather Alderson Visual artist

Aisha Allinson Writer

Cindya Angel Dancer

Divya Avula Visual artist – Manchester

Stella Barnes Theatre and Participatory Arts Practitioner

Morgan Bassichis Performer

Sarah Bedi Director / Writer

Marcus Berdaut Creative Producer

Dylan Best Visual Artist

Giovanni Bienne Actor: Equity LGBT+ Councilor

Irene Bindi Artist and Editor

Adelheid Bjornlie Writer

Luz Blanco Santos DJ / Creative Producer / Facilitator

Roo Bramley Musician and stage performer

Jamie Brown Musician

John-Paul Brown Visual Artist

Tam Dean Burn Actor / Theatremaker

Nafeesah Butt Theatremaker: TEAM

Yasmin Butt Theatre Booking Coordinator

Jen Calleja Writer

Elena Cantu Front of House Staff

Anthony Capildeo Writer and Editor

Cathy Chapman Writer, Lit Fest Volunteer

Julie Cheung-Inhin Actor

Taghrid Choucair-Vizoso Cultural Worker / Curator /Artist

Dominic Cisalowicz Visitor Fundraiser

Dæmon Clelland Artist / Performer / Curator

Anna Cole Associate

Paule Constable Lighting designer

Joseph Conway Producer / Writer: Manchester Theatre for Palestine

Algernon Cornelius Musician

Alastair Curtis Director: The AIDS Plays Project

Mohamed-Zain Dada Playwright

Helen Davies Visual artist

Marion Dawson Theatre Captioner

Guido Di Bari Dancer

Emma Dibb Designer and academic

Meray Diner Filmmaker

Campbell Edinborough Associate Professor in Creative Practice

Jessica El Mal Artist and curator

Heidi El-Kholy Designer

Lizzie Eldridge Writer

Leonor Estrada Francke Theatre Director/ Performer

Sorcha Fhionntain Playwright

Jude FireSong Performance Poet / Speculative Fiction Writer / Artist

Elaine Fisher Visual Artist

Joey Frances Poet

Jasmine Gardner Visual artist

Tommy Garside Actor

Ruth Geye Playwright

Becks Gio Joe Artist-Curator

Nathan Godfrey Engagement Coordinator

Lisa Goldman Writer / Dramaturg / Director

Pauline Goldsmith Actor / Writer

Jacob Gower Writer

Gráinne Gráinne O’Mahony Theatremaker / Arts Comms Worker

Leila Greci Programme and partnerships manager

Jade Grogan Editor

Alexander Guedeney Visual Artist

Noor Hadid Actress / Front of House Staff

Daisy Hale Producer

Kit Hall Dancer / Choreographer / Producer

Rida Hamidou Playwright

Annie Hanauer Choreographer

Bonnie Hancell Poet

James Harker Playwright

Tessa Harris Writer

Jan-Sarah Harrison-Shakarchy Visual artist

Zainab Hasan Actress

Sabrin Hasbun Writer

Jo Hauge Live Artist

Alex Haydn-Williams Editor

Leila Herandi Actor

Azhar Herezata-Ala Poet

Jay Hermann Director

Hazel Holder Voice Coach

Lewys Holt Artist

Kirsty Housley Director / Dramaturg / Writer

Laura Howard Lighting Designer

Tuheen Huda Performance Artist / Writer / Poet.

Sonia Hughes Artist

Sameena Hussain Director

Sarah Impey Artist: Equity REC

Irvine Iqbal Actor

Deeqa Ismail Fine artist

Leveret Jaques Sound designer

Jayce Jayce Salloum Visual Artist

Tom Jeffreys Writer

Joe Clark Actor

Jessie Jones Communications Manager

Nick Jones Producer / Story Teller

Adele Jordan Artist

Jamil Keating Artist / Theatremaker: Co-Director of Northern Light Film CIC, Associate Artist of CNOA, Member of Divergency

Susan Kempster Choreographer

Rahela Khan Visual Artist

Michael Kitchin Producer

Karol Kochanowski Visual artist

Lora Krasteva Performance artist

Jo Lane Writer / Director

Jo Lansley Artist

Ruth Lass Actress

Em Laxton Sound designer

Ciara Leeming Photographer / Writer

Jazmine Linklater Editor / Writer: Corridor8

Alexandra Lort Phillips Producer

Caroline Magee Actor / Playwright

Tanushka Muna Director

Emily Marsden Cultural Worker

Sara Masry Actor

Chloe Massey Actor

axmed maxamed Writer

MJ McCarthy Composer / Sound Designer

Elizabeth McLoughlin Artist (Painter)

Prema Mehta Lighting Designer

Leila Mimmack Actor

Hussein Mitha Artist

Nicola Moore Visual Artist / Art Therapist

Ishana Moores Events staff

Sam Murray Painter

Chris Myers Actor: Theatre Workers for a Ceasefire

Sînziana Myers Writer

Martha Nabila Writer

Emma Nafz Stage Manager

Rehab Nazzal Visual Artist / Filmmaker / Educator

Kate Neilan Marketer of Books: Unbound

Sinéad Nunes Marketing Manager: Heart of Glass

Fionn Ó Loingsigh Actor

Ioana-Melania Pahome Artist-Curator

Polly Palmerini Visual arts

J.C. Pankratz Playwright

Emma Jayne Park Dancer / Theatre Maker

Kim Pearce Theatre Director

Miranda Pennell Filmmaker

Joshua Pharo Lighting Designer

Ergo Phizmiz Composer / Writer / Director: Avanthardcollective

Aniela Piasecka Dance Artist and Choreographer

Jamie Potter Theatremaker

Cara Powell Producer

Em Pren Deaf Theatremaker

Candice Purwin Illustrator and Graphic Novelist

Sara Ramirez Actor / Producer

Jake Rayner Blair Actor / Theatremaker

Khadija Raza Set and Costume Designer

Devan Reid Artist

Mais Robinson Facilitator

ML Roberts Writer / Performer

Danusia Samal Actor / Playwright

Kareem Samara Musician / Composer

Lenni Sanders Writer

Michal Sapir Musician / Writer

Aran Savory Artist

Iona Schwalowsky-Monks Visual Artist

Davina Shah Agent: TEAM

Rajha Shakiry Designer

Sabine Sharp Scholar

Evie Siddal Visual and Performance Artist

Eleanor Sikorski Choreographer / Filmmaker / lecturer

Greg Simmons Screenwriter

Christine Singer Writer

Beth Sitek Producer

Eyal Sivan Filmmaker

James Skull Writer, assistant director, actor

Ceallach Spellman Actor

Abena Louisa D B St Bartholomew-Brown Morgan Actor

Amanda Stoodley Designer

Sam Swann Actor

Laura Swift Editor

Humera Syed Actor

Karl Taylor Producer: BUZZCUT

Giles Thomas Composer / Sound Designer

Abir Tobji Producer

Jo Tyabji Director

Jamie Tyson Musician

Josie Underwood Theatremaker: Silent Faces

Paula Varjack Theatremaker

Borja Velez Playwright

Jai Vethamony Actor

Clara Vulliamy Author and Illustrator

Darcy Wallace Choreographer

Sylvia Waltering Visual artist

Stephanie Webber Visual artist

Hilary White Writer

Don Wilkie Record Label Owner: Constellation

Jack Young Writer