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Index calls for transparency on Homegrown cancellation

Index on Censorship calls on the National Youth Theatre (NYT) to publicly and transparently disclose its consultations with police and council officials in the lead-up to the cancellation of the play Homegrown.

The team behind the production, which explored Islamic radicalisation among young people in the United Kingdom, released a statement that details the cancellation from their point of view. It is now up to the other parties involved to fully disclose their decision-making process to allow the public — including tax-payers who are funding this production — to understand this violation of free expression.

“We were deeply shocked to find out in an email that the company had decided to cancel the production of Homegrown 10 days before the first preview,” read the statement, which was signed by Mina Aidoo (choreographer), Omar El-Khairy (writer), Paris Erotokritou (associate director), Nadia Latif (director), Lorna Ritchie (designer) and Keziah Serreau (associate director).

The production was two weeks into rehearsals when the cancellation was announced, The Guardian reported. The show, which had been in development for six months, was the product of workshops with British young people between the ages of 16 and 25.

It is very worrying that an arts project exploring an important subject that young people of all ethnicities need to be able to discuss and debate has been closed down. Equally concerning are the actions of Tower Hamlets council, some allegations about police involvement and the absence of any clear and transparent public statement on the part of NYT.

Without even a line of legislation being debated, the government has created an atmosphere whereby a play about extremism can be cancelled with no reason given, in a completely opaque way with no respect for freedom of expression.

Police, councils and arts organisations have a duty to respect and protect freedom of expression — even, and most especially, where they disagree with the message or find it controversial.

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Cancellation of Homegrown is very worrying

It is very worrying that a theatre production about an important subject and one that young people need to be able to discuss and debate should be closed down.

The decision to cancel Homegrown, a National Youth Theatre production that included a cast of 112 young people between the ages of 15 and 25, was made 10 days before it was due to be staged at an east London school. The play, a promenade-like production in which the audience would overhear hallway conversations between the actors, was developed through workshops put on by the creators. Director Nadia Latif and playwright Omar El-Khairy believe the production was cancelled due to external pressures, according to The Guardian.

Despite the Prime Minister’s recent statements about shutting down speech about extremism, as a society we should be encouraging vehicles that shed light on the processes of radicalisation among young people. The way forward is to open up discussions about controversial subjects in contemporary Britain.

The police and local officials clearly need to be reminded that they have a duty to protect the right to free expression.