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The battle of Broad Street |
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Monday, 20 December 2004Riot police clashed with angry religious activists who stormed Birmingham Repertory Theatre last night in protest at a controversial play being staged inside.
Sikh activists burst into the foyer, setting off fire alarms and smashing windows. Eggs were hurled at the building and a policeman was assaulted.
More than 1,000 Sikhs from all over the country had been staging a demonstration in Centenary Square when trouble broke out and the theatre came under attack.
A performance of the play Behtzi - Punjabi for Dishonour - in the Rep's The Door auditorium had to be abandoned after just 20 minutes amid scenes of chaos.
Around 50 police officers - including 30 in riot gear and dog-handlers with Alsatians - rushed to the Rep to restore public order as a police helicopter hovered overhead.
Broad Street, which had been thronged by Christmas revellers heading for the clubs and restaurants, had to be closed off and the chaotic scenes left children visiting Centenary Square in tears.
Initial reports were that five men had been arrested. Three were last night still being held at the city's Steelhouse Lane police station.
"The crowd had been very noisy, but it went crazy when they managed to storm into the Rep," said an eyewitness.
"They let off fire alarms to force the evacuation of the building. Even when it was announced that the play had been cancelled, they refused to leave the area until the arrested men were released."
There has been growing fury among militants about the play - written by Sikh playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti - which is set in a Sikh temple where rape, abuse and murder takes place.
They claim that the work is offensive to their religion.
Before yesterday's demonstration, protesters laid their plans on internet chatrooms. One wrote: "There's a protest happening in Birmingham against this play. That woman is a traitor."
Four people were arrested during demonstrations earlier last week - and Ms Bhatti said she had received death threats. The play opened at the
Rep on December 9 and is due to run until December 30. Last night it was unknown whether future performances would still go ahead.
Sewa Singh Mandha, Chairman of The Council of Sikh Gurdwaras, said: "The Rep has not listened to the concerns of the community.
"They keep saying the playwright has the right to her imaginations but these imaginations could harm a community.
"This play will not help race relations in the city. This is the wrong city for it to be staged."
He added that a meeting had been arranged for Sikh leaders to discuss the controversial play with West Midlands Police Chief Constable Paul Scott-Lee and theatre management today. Leaders of Birmingham City Council, which heavily subsidises the Rep, had already issued a public statement about the play - but said they were powerless to force changes in the script.
Councillor Mike Whitby, Birmingham's council leader, said he sympathised with criticism about the play and wrote to community leaders about the 'distress' it had caused.
"As a practising Christian, I understand how the portrayal of religious issues or a reference to faith in art or drama can cause offence," he said in the letter.
However, Alan Rudge, one of two council representatives on the Rep management board, said that discussions had resulted in a 'fairer presentation' of the play. A Birmingham Rep spokesman said last week: "The Rep has been transparent with leaders in the Sikh community about the content and nature of the play in discussions over the last few months.
"The theatre has also made efforts to ensure positive representation of Sikhism as a faith in its programme notes. Although the setting of Behzti is the Sikh temple, neither the writer nor the theatre is making a comment on Sikhism as a faith or the temple as an entity."
The black comedy is Bhatti's second play at the Rep. Her first play, Behsharam (Shameless), played to full houses in both The Door and London's Soho Theatre.
She has just written The Cleaner, an hour-long film for BBC1, and her first feature film, Pound Shop Boys.
icbirmingham, via Muslim News (LOndon)
19 December 2004
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Monday, 20 December 2004
By Amardeep Bassey and Bob Haywood
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