'Homegrown', which looked at issues such as jihadi brides and attitudes towards Islam in the UK, was supposed to involve 112 actors from the National Youth Theatre (NYT).
The show’s director Nadia Latif told the Guardian: “There was no warning. “We got an email on Thursday night saying the show was cancelled, rehearsals are done, and the cast were told on Friday morning. And that was really a sucker punch, not least because we didn’t see it coming at all. There must have been some extraordinary external pressure to cancel the production to justify that emotional trauma on a cast of 112 young people.
“This show was about having an intelligent conversation around an issue that has hysteria attached, and instead voices have been silenced with no explanation and without the content ever being seen because of this landscape of fear that we live in.”
Organisers originally planned to stage the play in a school in Bethnal Green, east London, less than a mile from the school attended by three girls who ran away to join IS (also know as Isis, Isil or Daesh). But when the school realised the content of the play, they requested that the venue be changed.
A spokeswoman for Tower Hamlets council was quoted in The Stage as saying: “The school was not aware of the subject of the play when they agreed to lease the premises. Once they became aware, they decided that it would not be appropriate to rent their premises to the National Youth Theatre. The news of the missing school girls has had a huge emotional impact on their families and friends, as well as the entire local community.”
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It was also claimed that police requested to view the final script and considered putting plain clothes officers in the audience, according to the Guardian.
But despite claims that the play was running ahead of schedule and that the entire writing and rehearsal process had been completely transparent, the decision was taken to close the show down just two weeks before opening night.
A number of cast members and other supporters of the play began tweeting about the cancellation using the hashtag #JeSuisHomeGrown...
Today has been utterly heartbreaking-but Homegrown isn't over. Thanks @HerrDirector & @TheloniousO for changing our lives #JeSuisHomegrown
— Katie Greenall (@Katie_Greenall) July 31, 2015I cried my annual supply of tears, mourning what could have been. All dressed in black. Literally. #JeSuisHomegrown pic.twitter.com/I3kSeU9AQi
— Marilyn Nadebe (@noir_marilyn) August 1, 2015#JeSuisHomegrown https://t.co/GxDoiEr8pR
— Lauren Moore (@tell_me_moore) August 4, 2015The show I was working on, and fell in love with got pulled. Great shame, but I had the privilege of meeting amazing people #JeSuisHomegrown
— Ellis Bloom (@EllisBloom) August 1, 2015'Art is not made for anybody and is, at the same time, for everybody.'
- Piet Mondrian #JeSuisHomegrown
— Gemima (@JimmyBobMorris) August 1, 2015Robert Sharp, from writers' association English PEN, voiced his concern over the cancellation. He told HuffPost UK: "English PEN is concerned by the suggestion that Homegrown may have been cancelled because of its subject matter. We are currently in the midst of a government crackdown on extremism that includes proposals that could curb free speech. This creates a culture of caution, and the cancellation of the play appears to be the first instance of that caution impinging directly on artistic expression."
Journalists David Aaronovitch and Laurie Penny also tweeted their dismay over the decision.
The cancellation of performance of the play "Homegrown" is, on the face of it, extremely worrying. These issues need to be aired.
— David Aaronovitch (@DAaronovitch) August 5, 2015Britain: where censorship is nothing if not specific, and some fascism is free speechier than others. #homegrown #dailymail
— Laurie Penny (@PennyRed) August 5, 2015Really, really shocked at the cancellation of Homegrown, NYT's exploration of young people and Islam: http://t.co/HKYIYxbOsr
— Aitch Giles (@HarryGiles) August 5, 2015This is not good news for theatre- National Youth Theatre radicalisation play axed amid cries of censorship https://t.co/aXe903WzDw
— Matt Hemley (@MattHemley) August 4, 2015Oh ffs!! Having this conversation is exactly what's needed to help counter radicalisation. NYT play gets shut down: http://t.co/KprJTjMCGs
— Anjali Singh (@anjali_k_singh) August 5, 2015This is outrageous and completely unacceptable. We should not kowtow to cowards. #JeSuisHomegrown
http://t.co/6AjZkupccq
— Mark Oosterveen (@MarkOosterveen) August 4, 2015A statement issued by the NYT said: “The production of Homegrown will no longer go ahead.
“After some consideration, we have come to the conclusion that we cannot be sufficiently sure of meeting all of our aims to the standards we set and which our members and audiences have come to expect.
“All purchased tickets will be fully refunded. Contact the National Theatre Box Office for further details.”
But despite the claim that the production was cancelled for quality reasons, Latif insisted: “The show was running absolutely to schedule and the script had all been signed off and we were very confident of actually being ahead of schedule. So there was never any doubt of it being ready on time. No time concerns or quality concerns were raised.”