I think it is a pity that some newspapers and TV channels have decided not to portray the cartoon from the Charlie Hebdo cover when so many other news organisations have stood together in solidarity and featured it in their news outlets and publications. Free speech is a vitally important function in our Western democracies, and we should stand up for it at all costs. I understand that faith is of great consequence too for various communities, not only in France, but all over the world and of course here too in Briton, and I appreciate that certain people are going to be offended by such images; but when those people decide to elect themselves judge and jury and commit murder then a line has been crossed which threatens our very freedom. The magazine, Charlie Hebdo celebrates satire, and so anyone and everyone are a potential target; including Judaism, Christianity and any other religious group. If they were to make an exception for any one of them, then to my mind they are bowing to the pressure of psychopathic bullies who as we know threaten to make them pay with their very lives. I have Muslim friends, I have Christian friends, I have Jewish friends and Sikh and Hindu friends; they all believe in something deeply spiritual and personal to their lives, but they should not be afraid of satire, because if we say that we cannot poke fun or scrutinise any belief system we want to, be it religious or political then we have lost a treasured freedom and we will all be the worse for it. The people who were murdered in France were from many different faith groups; some of course had no belief at all, but one – a policeman was Muslim. Perhaps he himself would have found depictions of the prophet Muhammad distasteful, who is to say? But he bravely gave his life for the protection of democracy and the citizens of France, whatever their ethnic origin and whatever God they chose to worship.
I know that sometimes my own work has caused offence, but I try to write honestly and from the heart, but sometimes as with my play Mr And Mrs Schultz, various people have tried to ban my work. More recently my play A White Man In England has made the shortlist for a few literary awards, but theatres are reluctant to produce it in case it offends their audiences. Mr And Mrs Schultz was well received by audiences and had some great reviews, but the campaign did mean that a few theatres cancelled the show. I do believe in telling truth about important issues (as with my controversial play Noise), but I feel that theatre in this country is becoming more and more conservative in its choice of plays, and my kind of risky drama therefore takes a back seat. Below for the record is synopses of the plays I mentioned…
Mr And Mrs Schultz - Following the defeat of Germany in 1945, South America furtively provides a safe haven for escaping Nazis and their loot. High in the remote and beautiful Argentinean mountains, Hanna a German ex-patriot plays host to Mr Schultz a new houseguest and his attractive new companion Lotte Shultz, a dizzy self-absorbed blonde woman. As the days pass, their disturbing story begins to unfold and the past tightens its grip on the fugitive present. Oscar Shultz is seemingly a former SS officer and Hanna, the widow of a German soldier who has herself taken part in infamous medical experiments on concentration camp victims. But all is not quite as it seems, and as time moves on it becomes clear that the charismatic Mr Schultz harbours a much darker secret that results in him meeting his nemesis and the revenge of 6 million people.
A White Man In England - Ray Cartwright is a disillusioned ex soldier suffering from 'gulf war syndrome', feeling betrayed and let down by the country he fought for, he has also recently separated from his wife and lives a sedentary life in a council flat, visited regularly by his doting daughter, Maria who has a mixed-race child from a partner who is now no longer around. Maria concerned for her father, instigates a scheme where he mentors a couple of young men fresh from prison on a 'community payback' scheme. At first it looks as if Ray has found a purpose in life, but before long a clash of cultures expose fault lines in all of them, stirring up a cocktail of confrontation and ultimate tragedy. A challenging state-of-the-nation play about identity and belonging that seriously gets under the skin.
