Hundreds of figures from the British arts united on Thursday to condemn the cancellation of a controversial Sikh play as an affront to freedom of expression. "To stop the production of a work of art by means of force and continued threats of force is unacceptable," said an open letter signed by some 700 actors, writers and directors.
The Birmingham Repertory Theatre in central England decided this week to ditch "Behzti" (Dishonour) - a play featuring sexual abuse and murder in a Sikh temple, after 400 Sikh protesters pelted the playhouse with stones.
Its Sikh author Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti has gone into hiding after receiving death threats, according to friends.
"Doubtless, some will see the fact that the play's production has been brought to an end by this campaign of intimidation as some kind of victory," said the letter published in Thursday's Guardian newspaper.
"The reality is we all lose by it. The violent abuse of power to silence the individual in a community is one of the main themes of this writer's play. It is a sad irony, therefore, that the violent actions of some of the protesters on Saturday have actually only served to confirm the play's relevance."
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