“The Old Vic and Scenario Two co-producers have agreed that production of
Into the Woods
, slated for spring 2022, will not take place at The Old Vic. All ticket buyers will be contacted directly. The Old Vic wishes the show the best of luck for its future life. ”
Here is the message that regulars at the Old Vic Theater in London were able to discover on the institution's website on Thursday 28 October. The show in question, the musical
Into the Woods
, written by Stephen Sondheim in 1986, is co-edited by former Monty Python member Terry Gilliam.
Except that the director is blacklisted by the Old Vic teams from a Facebook post, dated October 14, in which the American filmmaker supports the American comedian Dave Chappelle, whose show broadcast on Netflix is accused of "Transphobia".
"I encourage you all to watch Dave Chappelle's new show… To me, he's the greatest stand-up comedian alive today: incredibly intelligent, socially conscious, dangerously provocative and incredibly funny,"
wrote Terry Gilliam. .
The last straw for the Old Vic team, already hostile to the director.
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According to
The Guardian
, the staff of the theater has been mobilized since May 2021 against the holding of the show, accusing Gilliam of not sharing the values of their institution, since comments he made in the columns of
The Independent
in January 2020. During the interview, the 80-year-old director reiterated his position regarding the #MeToo movement, which he describes as a
“witch hunt”
, and lamented living in an era where we systematically
“
keep
” someone other than yourself responsible for
[his]
failures. [...] I want people to take responsibility and not constantly point the finger at someone else and say, 'You have ruined my life' ”
, he detailed.
He also said he was
"tired, as a white man, of being blamed for everything that's wrong with the world."
When I announce that I am a black lesbian in transition, people take offense.
Why?"
, he asked, half joking.
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Within the theater teams, discussions around the filmmaker have given rise to dissensions and a generational divide between the “pro” and the “anti” Gilliams. Members of Old Vic 12, an artistic development program of the organization - made up of young writers, producers and directors - have been particularly active according to
The Guardian
. Following the deprogramming, a person would have resigned in protest, according to information from the
Daily Mail
relayed by
L'Express
.
This brutal cancellation raises the question of the survival of the show.
Former English National Opera artistic director John Berry, whose production company Scenario Two is co-producing the show, said he was focusing
"on finding a new home for this show,"
which was due to be played in the spring. 2022.
"These things are happening, this is not the first change of plan for a West End show
[the West End brings together most of the major London theaters, Editor's note]
, nor the last, and current times are unpredictable everywhere"
, he relativized.
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For the Old Vic, the damage is likely to be high.
The theater has already sold 300,000 pounds (353,000 euros) of tickets, which must now be repaid.
To this financial loss is added a bad publicity which the institution would have done well, it which was already in the spotlight in 2017. At the time of the emergence of #MeToo, about twenty staff complaints were addressed to management regarding actor Kevin Spacey.
The actor, artistic director of the place from 2003 to 2015, allegedly behaved inappropriately and several allegations of harassment and sexual assault were made against him.
In July 2019, however, one of his accusers, William Little, dropped his lawsuit for lack of evidence.
