A group of queer, black friends, the Jewish experience, how a British Iraqi saw the Gulf War … as she unveils her radical programme, the artistic director talks about learning from the row which saw the theatre accused of antisemitism
About three years ago, Vicky Featherstone’s old university friend, the actor Tracy-Ann Oberman, suggested staging a play about antisemitism on the left as charges continued to linger around the Labour party. Featherstone, artistic director of the Royal Court in London, had already had a similar conversation with a board member. She began developing the shape of the play.
But earlier this year, the theatre found itself on the back foot and issued an apology over Al Smith’s drama Rare Earth Mettle, whose rich, avaricious character was given a Jewish name in a glaring instance of unconscious bias. Featherstone fast-tracked Oberman’s idea into action: “It had to come to the fore more quickly because it was a really important thing to think about and acknowledge.”
