A hisbah Sharia enforcement squad, accused of human rights abuses, and a particular target of Shehu Sani’s The Phantom Crescent

It is sometimes easy to forget — in a middle-class theatre in Middle Britain — that as well as providing entertainment, the theatre is a traditional organon of dissent and advocacy.

There have been some (mainly religious) highly publicised objections to some dramatic content in the UK in recent years (such as the Christian Voice-orchestrated protests against Jerry Springer The Opera, which resulted in significant loss of sponsorship and some tour dates, and the violent Sikh protests against Behzti in Birmingham, which resulted in the theatre halting the run). However there is little government control (the Tricycle Theatre was able to stage Called To Account in April this year which pointedly asked whether Tony Blair should be indicted for the Iraq War, for example).

But criticism of the ruling elites and their enforcement squads in Nigeria has landed one playwright in court, his performances outlawed and his book banned.

Selected text from allAfrica.com, “Kaduna Sharia Court Bans Book” follows below.

An Upper Sharia Court in Tudun Wada, Kaduna, has banned the sale, staging or any form of distribution of The Phantom Crescent, a play published by a notable civil rights activist and poet, Shehu Sani. [...The play] allegedly lampoons the implementation of Islamic legal practice in Northern Nigeria.

[...] The work of fiction is based on the circumstances surrounding the implementation of Shari’ah in an unnamed state by the lead character known as Governor Yerima and the social imbalance that followed it. Governor Yerima is portrayed in some scenes selectively approving amputation and stoning to death one Buba Jangebe and Safiya, respectively, while sparing Bala Dan’inna, deputy chairman of the governor’s party.

In the end, there is a revolt led by Aminu, leader of the Redemption Front, who tells his excited followers: “They said it is against Sharia to take alcohol, while most of them take it. They said it is against Sharia to patronize prostitutes while most of them do it. They said it is illegal to engage in gambling while most of them do it. They said we cannnot listen to music or dance, while most of them do. Today is the end of their hypocrisy.”

And presumably many of them claim to exercise enlightened Ijtihad, but such an infantile decision against a theatrical artwork belies any such claim.

Apologists for the censorship are justifying the decision to ban the play by rumouring that it was the spearhead of a plot “aimed at discrediting certain public officers in the state”, a plot “hatched to coincide with the end of the Ramadan period” and so stir up negative religious sentiments.

And what if it was a plot? — one might ask. If a satire sticks in the throat then it has done its job. If it is so false as to be ridiculous, so mischievous that it misses its target, then why ban it? Allow it to be performed, so that everyone might see the folly of the playwright.

Also see:

• Theatre Without Borders: Nigerian Court Bans the Phantom Crescent
• Javno: Nigerian sued over play
• Ocnus.net: Sharia and Human Rights in Nigeria
• Al Arabiya: Nigerian sued for mocking Sharia law “abuses”

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Orlando Bloom is interviewed by cultural guru Mark Lawson in the Guardian today.

Deciding that he “really needed to do some theatre because I was feeling a bit thin”, [Bloom] was offered the part of Steven, the quietest of the three brothers in In Celebration, but initially said no. “I was, like, ‘You want me to play Steven? Why? He doesn’t say much, does he?’ I just didn’t get it.” He asked for the showier role, Andrew, but realised the character was too old, and was persuaded that Steven was a good entry into theatre. He believes now that the modesty of the role is an advantage. “I saw the potential for a great ensemble play. I was very conscious of not wanting a star vehicle. I wanted to crack this perception of, ‘Oh, it’s Orl …’” His own name trips him up, as if he’s wary of becoming one of those performers who refer to themselves with ease in the third person. “You know, that it’s ‘Orlando Bloom.’” He completes the name, but with exaggerated distance, as if it were a fictional character “doing some theatre”.

The Telegraph also covered In Celebration earlier this week, but focusing on Storey.

Storey fell into theatre in 1967 when the Court finally staged a play he’d submitted eight years earlier. The Restoration of Arnold Middleton earned him a share of the Evening Standard’s award for most promising playwright. It took his co-winner, Tom Stoppard, four years to come up with a full-length follow-up to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. In four months, Storey wrote several of the plays on which his reputation still rests.

“I don’t think I’d been to the theatre more than a dozen times in my life,” he says.

The text of the article follows below.

Elton’s tale of serial murder

Ben Elton’s provocative drama Popcorn is brought to the stage at the Swan Theatre next week.

The Swan Theatre Amateur Company is tackling his story of serial killers and hostages from Tuesday, June 26 to Saturday, June 30.

Central character Bruce Delamitri gets home after winning an Oscar for his latest ultra-violent film to find two real-life serial killers waiting for him.

Their indiscriminate slaughter has earned them the nickname of the Mail Murderers [sic -- this should read "Mall Murderers"] from the popular Press and their plan is to make the film director accept responsibility for the killings they have carried out.

The hostage situation will only be resolved if he confesses to the killers being influenced through his films. Meanwhile, the SWAT team gathers outside ready to go in — but will they do it before too many people die on national TV?

It contains scenes of violence and strong language.

Call the box office on 01905 611427. Tickets £7-£9.50.

Today I am to appear in something called the Big Debate, organised by the University of Central England as part of the New Generation Arts Festival. I am to speak to the (hopefully rhetorical) question whether or not “there is life in regional arts”. Some people seem to think that arts in regional England have been on life support for too long. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport would probably be delighted to hear that the brain stem of regional arts is dead, and funds can now be safely diverted to the Olympics. Region is a baggy word, chosen by the Londonocentric in preference to the word “provinces”. North-western Europe is a region too, a region that we are supposed to belong to, but when it comes to the arts, we couldn’t be more different.