Comments

Comments

James Levy June 15th, 2016

Great review thank you Erin, really thoughtful. A white little Eva...gawd. Getting a lot of stick from the idiocracy on Stuff.com, does anyone know how the other companies in the "Consortium" handled the racial casting issues? This season is the last gasp of the touring set and costumes delayed due to the "Quake.

Erin Harrington June 11th, 2016

Kia ora Showbiz team –

I didn’t find the casting offensive; I was incredulous.

With regards to your talented cast, I should have used the term ‘fair-skinned’ rather than ‘white’ when referring to performers (cf. characters), as they mean and imply quite different things. I’m very sorry for the sloppiness on my part, especially if it has caused any offense.

That said, the need expressed here to offer a roll call of ethnicities to indicate, perhaps, a degree of ‘authenticity’ or equitability reinforces the idea that you’re either white or you get put in the ‘other’ pile. While I don’t have the programme in front of me at the moment, I also don’t recall being asked to suspend my disbelief at all for the ‘white cast’ / The Nicest Kids In Town, especially with regards to the sorts of makeup that’s obviously been applied, although I am happy to be corrected if this is incorrect.

I am very surprised at the comment in the rights information re: Edna being played by a man. Drag and the sort of racial pageantry I’ve commented on are antithetical to one another; one is a form of performance with an enormous political and emancipatory component that’s employed by a marginalised group to spit in the face of systems of inequality and highlight the inherent performativity of gender and sex roles, and the other, well, isn’t. Falling back on ‘well, this is what they said’ is a cop out. Even considering the practicalities (and necessary evils!) of stage makeup, I wonder where the line is between ‘heavy spray tan’ and ‘colouring … anyone’s face’.

I don’t believe for a moment that there has been any malice in the staging of this show, but there has been a good degree of thoughtlessness in the rationale behind it, and a lack of anything more than a superficial understanding of the issues addressed through the show’s rich content, form and cultural and historical context.

The issues that inform this aren’t unique to this production, but speak to broader issues about representation and the responsibilities that companies have that have been happening around the country. Even just off the top of my head I can think of the arguments about the ‘colour-blind’ casting of the reading of a new play about Ai Weiwei in Auckland; the elision of racial context in St Margaret’s College’s production of Dreamgirls; the issues around the lack of women in the production team of last year’s excellent That Bloody Woman; huge issues and anger about lack of work written by women and people of colour (and the knock on effects of casts that skew massively towards white men) in professional theatre companies; the ethical issues involved in staging The Mikado; and so on. (Further afield, the ongoing clash between 'golliwogs take their image from harmful historic stereotypes and minstrelsy' and 'aw but gollies are just lovely wee toys and I had one as a kid and I'm not racist' is instructive; a rose by any other name...)

None of the complaints re: these issues is to do with the quality of the shows, but rather the nuanced realities of staging shows in Aotearoa New Zealand, and a sense of critical awareness about what happens when people from a cultural majority tell stories for other groups of people, or that incorporate their perspectives, or – as has happened here - that draw from histories of representation that are better off consigned to history. It’s not about well-meaning intent, because intent and outcome aren’t the same thing; it’s about thinking respectfully and thoughtfully about reception and the communities in which we participate and live.

Showbiz is a highly respected company that stages some very, very good shows, but that level of profile and respect also comes with a set of responsibilities, and one of those responsibilities is to be mindful about the complexity of cultural and critical context.

As a friend who works in film and arts management said to me yesterday, “if you don’t have a black Dorothy, you don’t do The Wiz”.  

Nga mihi, and best wishes for the rest of your season.

Erin

Michael Bayly June 11th, 2016

Dear John and Erin, 

Well we have stirred up an interesting debate. It is alive and well on FB, and some valid points are being debated – so you could say that in many respects this show is serving its purpose of encouraging discussion and debate and throwing a spotlight onto matters of casting in New Zealand. There are some massive inconsistencies in many of the arguments, and rules are being made up as they are applied in some cases, but that is part of the process.

I am choosing not to get involved currently on FB, as I have made a statement regarding our intent and do not want to throw oil on the flames.

Please find attached a photo of the black cast in Hairspray. As per the directors/ writers guide for international productions we have a hugely diverse cast. They are certainly not all white actors playing black roles. Motormouth – who has been isolated in many of the discussions as very white, is a staunchly proud NZ Maori woman of strong Ngai Tahu descent. She is greatly respected and supported by the Ngai Tahu community for her work in the performing arts and education. She is one of the finest soul singers in the country ( to my ears) and her stage mannerisms are very much Lou Days. A number of comments on FB have said that her skin tone is too light to be Maori, which as I sure you would agree is a very contentious stand for anyone to take.

The remainder of the black cast as you can see are Maori, Polynesian, Asian, African and one dark skinned European. No blackface has been used. Stage lighting makes their complexions look lighter – but they are most certainly not an all white cast playing black roles.

Cheers

Michael

Michael Bayly June 10th, 2016

Dear Erin, 

I am very sorry that you have found the casting our production offensive. It is so far from our intentions to in any way diminish or reduce the historic issues of racism and Civil Rights in America ( or anywhere else in the world). The universal theme that underpins this story is tolerance and acceptance - that is never OK to discriminate against anyone for reasons of size, gender, race, religion or sexual identity. There have been thousands of productions of this show all over the world, including school shows where all roles have been played by all ethnicities, ages and genders. Especially in schools outside of America the show has been used as the basis of education around areas of the Civil Rights Movement in America in the 40s/50s/60s, and used to enlighten people of all cultures of the history of struggle and repression in America. The writers and producers of the original Hairspray musical, and John Waters the writer/director of the movie acknowledge and encourage the show to be cast with a wide diversity of ethnicities, or else it would never be performed outside America, as many countries could not cast the black characters within their community, and never be given the opportunity to learn and discuss the issues that are raised. Our black cast are of a rich and diverse heritage. Motormouth, Seaweed and Little Inez all identify as NZ Maori in their family ancestry, the three Dynamites are performed by actors that identify as NZ Maori and Korean. the remaining ensemble of black characters in our production are of Maori, Polynesian, Filipino, African and yes, one is of European descent. 

Below is an extract from the rights document we sign to get access to performance rights for the show - 

When we, the creators of HAIRSPRAY, first started licensing the show to high-schools and community theatres, we were asked by some about using make-up in order for non-African Americans to portray the black characters in the show.  

Although we comprehend that not every community around the globe has the perfectly balanced make-up (pardon the pun) of ethnicity to cast HAIRSPRAY as written, we had to, of course, forbid any use of the coloring of anyone's face (even if done respectfully and subtly) for it is still, at the end of the day, a form of blackface, which is a chapter in the story of race in America that our show is obviously against.  

Yet, we also realized, to deny an actor the chance to play a role due to the color of his or her skin would be its own form of racism, albeit a "politically correct" one.  

And so, if the production of HAIRSPRAY you see features folks whose skin color doesn’t match the characters (not unlike how Edna has been traditionally played by a man), we ask that you use the timeless theatrical concept of "suspension of disbelief" and allow yourself to witness the story and not the racial background (or gender) of the actors.  Our show is, after all, about not judging books by their covers!  If the direction and the actors are good (and they had better be!) you will still get the message loud and clear.  And hopefully have a great time receiving it!

Thank You,

Marc, Scott, Mark, Tom & John

Everyone in our production is wearing makeup and wigs ( for every single character, not just the black roles). No one has significantly changed their ethnicity by means of makeup. By the nature of being on stage all actors are wearing thick foundation that is not an exact match to their makeup free skin. Yes, many of them have a change of hair colour by dye or wigs. In the case of someone like Little Inez, the actor playing that role has been bleach blond for many years. For the show she has returned her hair to its more natural colouring. Her father is European, her mother is Maori. Lou Days is very proud of her Maori heritage, and identifies very strongly as a NZ Maori woman. She is not significantly dark skinned, but that in no way defines her ethnicity – and we would not chose to alter that with excessive makeup.  As I said at the outset,  I am extremely sorry if our production offended you - but our intent is to shine a light on how wrong it is to judge anyone, for any reason, by the things that separate them from the mainstream, and deny them the opportunity for a happy life devoid of prejudice.

I absolutely resect your opinions, and wanted you to know that we have considered this carefully, and are very much aware of the racial and social context of the show. We have cast this with a desire to tell a story of tolerance, and done so following the clear directions of the original writers and producers.

Regards

Michael Bayly