ED2014 News ED2014 Theatre

Underbelly confirms ‘The City’ will not go ahead

By | Published on Thursday 7 August 2014

The City

Underbelly yesterday confirmed that it had been unable to find a new home for Incubator Theatre’s ‘The City’, which had been due to be performed at the venue’s Cow Barn space on Bristo Square.

As previously reported, the show had proven controversial because it was part funded by the Israeli government through its Ministry Of Culture. As the recent conflict in Gaza erupted, both campaign groups and some key Scottish artists spoke out, saying that while they were making no comment on the show or the company behind it, they felt it was inappropriate for a production with Israeli state money in it to be performed at the Festival while the conflict in Gaza continued.

The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign pledged to protest outside every performance, and when they did so on the first day of the Festival that caused considerable problems, the show being performed within one of the Fringe’s busiest hubs. All of which made it untenable to stage the show there.

But Underbelly remained committed to the production, noting that its co-producer in the UK had insisted that “Incubator Theatre exists to be an agent of significant cultural change in Jerusalem, working in both east and west Jerusalem, and an active force in developing an urban climate of pluralism and openness that accommodates a wide spectrum of opinions and world views”. Underbelly bosses hoped to find an alternative venue where any protests would cause less problems.

But yesterday the venue admitted that, in the frenzy of the Fringe, the bid to find such a space had been unsuccessful. The venue said in a statement: “Underbelly and Incubator Theatre have worked very hard to find an alternative venue for ‘The City’. We are very disappointed to announce that unfortunately we have been unable to find a space that is viable for the show and for the security of the audience. A private performance for friends took place today but otherwise all performances at Underbelly of the show are now cancelled”.

Ticket holders had already had their money refunded after the show was initially postponed last week.