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A video has emerged online of cast members in Sydney Theatre Company’s recent production of The Visitors delivering a statement at curtain call in support of the Palestinian cause.
The video shows a three-minute statement being read by one cast member on behalf of others, following a preview performance at the Canberra Theatre Centre on November 8.
“This is a statement from the cast of The Visitors on the situation in Gaza,” the statement began. “The cast wanted to come back out and say, as a collective, that we are actively sending our love to those who are being severely oppressed. … From our small corner, we wanted to say that we see you.
“We refuse to look away from the mothers, the fathers, the families and the communities being pulled apart, especially the children.”
It’s understood the actors took it in turns to read the statement on behalf of their colleagues after each tour performance in Canberra and Geelong, apart from matinees.
The video comes to light as the Sydney Theatre Company has been plunged into crisis after three actors in its current production of Chekhov’s The Seagull took curtain calls wearing traditional keffiyeh scarves as a gesture of solidarity towards the people in Gaza.
Carla Zampatti chief executive Alex Schuman.Credit: Louise Kennerley
The protest at the Roslyn Packer Theatre has rocked the theatre world, with two STC board members resigning, subscribers cancelling tickets and the company cancelling Wednesday’s performance.
Alex Schuman, son of fashion icon Carla Zampatti and CEO of the design house she formed, on Thursday became the second Sydney Theatre Company foundation director to quit.
Schuman, who is the brother of Wentworth Independent MP Allegra Spender and fashion designer Bianca Spender, confirmed to this masthead he had resigned, but would not comment further.
The production of The Visitors was helmed by high-profile director Wesley Enoch, who was also director of the Sydney Festival from 2017 to 2021.
He said the decision to deliver the statement from the stage came after a “long process” of consultation. “We talked about it being unanimous so that everyone in that shared space could back it up,” he says. “There was a big conversation about that that went for a few days.”
Enoch said the cast had not sought approval for the statement from management.
“It wasn’t something that the cast asked to be sanctioned,” he says. “I can’t remember the process. There was nowhere at any point did people ask for or need to be signed off in that way. But the conversation was not just about the actors, it was done with the design team, the writer, myself as the director.
“I think it’s the responsibility of every individual to have a position on important issues in the world and for you then to act upon those where and how you act upon that is absolutely up to you.
“I’m not here to tell people what they can and can’t do in this way. I know what we did.”
Sydney Theatre Company has been contacted for comment. The company cancelled Wednesday night’s performance at short notice due to “a duty of care perspective” an STC spokesperson said.
“We understand that this caused significant inconvenience to many audience members and we sincerely apologise. The remaining season of The Seagull is scheduled to continue as planned,” the spokesperson said.
The Walsh Bay Theatre company has been in damage control since actors Harry Greenwood, Mabel Li and Megan Wilding wore keffiyeh scarves in solidarity with Palestine during the play’s encore on opening night on Saturday.
Judi Hausmann, another foundation director, resigned earlier this week in a letter claiming her fellow foundation directors: “minimised the harm and devastation this has caused to me personally and the Jewish community in general.”
Schuman and Hausmann were both on the board of the foundation which manages the fundraising arm of the theatre company, along with actor Hugo Weaving, whose son Harry Greenwood is one of the protesting actors.
Other high-profile performers including Mia Wasikowska, Tim Minchin and Heather Mitchell are also founding directors. Both Minchin and Mitchell were not available for comment.
The foundation operates separately to its board which was chaired by former Qantas head Alan Joyce before he took extended leave in September. Ann Johnson has been acting chair since his departure.
There has been support for the three performers among the acting community and on social media. Actor Cassandra Sorrell (Bump, Eden) wrote on Instagram on Wednesday: “‘In all the universe nothing remains permanent and unchanged but the spirit.’ -Chekhov. These actors know it. Stand by your artists @sydneytheatreco”
But the STC has also been flooded with letters of complaint from Jewish subscribers threatening to cancel their subscriptions or boycott performances of the Chekhov classic adapted by Andrew Upton.
Among them, former Disability Royal Commissioner Justice Ronald Sackville has written to STC Executive Director Ann Dunn asking for an explanation from the STC board about why the actors were wearing keffiyehs at the performance.
“In our view the actors were not entitled, without prior warning to the audience in advance of a performance, to express their views on a highly complex and deeply contentious issues,” he wrote.
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