Re: Woo-Hoo! Coarse language & nudity

Oh good grief!!> You'll remember how a woman stomed out of Blak Yak's last production,> "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress". Well apparently, this> woman has been ringing the City of Gosnells Don Russell Performing> Arts Centre (Blak Yak's venue) and threatening the management with> legal action because she was offended by our play. And here's the> punchline: apparently it wasn't the occasional coarse language that> caused the offense, but the lesbianism! That's right, this woman walked> out of our play because an actress was portraying a lesbian. Understand> that there was no physicality involved - whilst two of the bridesmaid> characters were talking, it was mentioned that another of the bridesmaids> is a lesbian.And i'm a christian offended by atheists. I'm a muslim and don't wish to be confronted by women in pants. I'm a puritan and can't bear the sight of women's ankles. I'm a capitalist and this play is full of communists. I'm an anarchist and it was far to ordered. I'm an expressionist and that's all dada. I'm a white supremacist offended by multiculturalism. I'm with the thought-police and you can't think that. This is George Orwell and this is 1984.> And THAT caused this woman to walk out and threaten subsequent> legal action because she wasn't warned of "offensive material".Define "offensive"?Australian theatre has a fascinating history in this regard. I outlined a couple of prominent cases in a previous post. I also recollect reading of WWIII being waged in Sydney over the premiere in the 50's at the Independent Theatre of the play Rusty Bugles that used the word bastard.> Unfortunately, this has worried the management at the City of> Gosnells Don Russell Performing Arts Centre and we are being asked> to sign a new clause in our contract stating that all advertising> must advise of "any strong language, sexual behaviour, homeosexuality> (sic), nudity, racial or religious discrimination" (but drug> use isn't mentioned so I guess THAT'S okay).Well, i hope they'll include and expand on the list of restrictions that i've mentioned above, because goodness knows, you're bound to offend someone whatever you do.> Personally the entire situation has left me stunned. The word> "incredulous" hardly begins to describe our feelings.Outraged is the word i would use.> I apologise if this sounds like I am airing our dirty laundry, but this> IS a gossip page, the story WILL get around (not that there's anything> secret about it) and I was naturally curious to see if other people> were as offended as I am. Frankly, I don't know whether I'm more offended> by this woman, or by the assumption that homosexuality is so offensive> that we are being asked to warn people in advance that it MIGHT be> mentioned. Surely there are sexual discrimination laws addressing> this...Yes, there are laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis sexual preference.There are two issues here. Can you really be taken to court if someone is offended by something in a play you do? And secondly, the legality of being required to distinguish between homosexual and heterosexual material.In the first instance, i personally believe this woman sounds like a loony. Ignore her and she'll go away. You can quote me on that and she can sue me for all she's worth.I would hope the law makes some distinction between what may cause a person offence and what is offensive. It probably amounts to the difference between a civil and criminal action. My bet is, you've done nothing illegal and she would have to sue you or better still the City of Gosnells.If you check out the Office of Film and Literature Classification's website you will find guidelines for film and video classification. (They're pdf files and need a special reader) These may serve as a good guide to clubs as to whether or not to post a warning.http://www.oflc.gov.au/latest.htmlIn the second instance, i'm not a lawyer, but if you are being required to provide a public warning if a character declares a preference for homosexuality, but the same requirement for a warning does not apply to plays containing characters which make similar declarations about their heterosexuality, then i feel there would be grounds for a claim of discrimination.I feel a new poll coming on!CheersGrant