Royal Exchange Theatre bosses apologise after review finds 'significant failures' over play cancellation

'The Board takes full responsibility for these failings and have commenced a long-term action plan in response to the report’s recommendations'

Bosses at the Royal Exchange Theatre have apologised to creatives, staff and audiences after a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream was cancelled at the last minute last year. It follows an independent review into the incident that found significant "systemic organisational and leadership failures" at the Manchester arts venue.

The independent review, published this week, concluded that a "failure to maintain robust support during a leadership change led to multiple issues on a Midsummer Night's Dream and its ultimate cancellation". The review did not, however, uphold concerns about censorship.

As the M.E.N. reported at the time, the modern take on the Shakespeare classic was called off following a row over references to Palestine and trans rights.

The theatre announced in September that the five-week run would no longer be going ahead following a series of last-minute cancellations. The theatre blamed a cast injury and 'technical issues', saying 'every effort' was made to get the show on stage.

But the play's director Stef O'Driscoll went on to claim that executive staff said that the production could not go ahead unless the phrases 'trans rights' and 'Free Palestine' were removed in a section of the show during a rap where characters expressed solidarity with trans people and the people of Palestine.

She claims that the executive staff, who were backed by the board, cited concerns about audience protests and press backlash when explaining their reasons for the decision. In the final week before the show's opening, Ms O'Driscoll claims the theatre conceded that references to trans rights could be included in the production, but it was 'categorically forbidden' to say 'Free Palestine' verbally.

Ms O'Driscoll said in a statement at the time: "After a week of artistic debate, and emotional toil, I decided that I couldn’t proceed under these conditions and made the difficult decision to step away from the show.

"I could not, in good conscience, continue with a production that undermined both artistic integrity and the well-being of myself and my team. Severe lack of management and support meant that a company of artists felt devalued, invisible, problematic and unsafe. "

The Board of The Royal Exchange Theatre has now issued a statement to say it accepts the findings of the independent review by the people make it work organisation and take "full responsibility for the failings".

In a statement on its website, it said: "The review found that the theatre's management’s actions did not constitute censorship. However, it concluded that failure to maintain robust support during a period of leadership change, led to multiple issues on AMND and its ultimate cancellation.

"We are committed to embedding artistic voices at the centre of our organisation, and creating a space in which everyone can explore their creative freedom. The Board takes full responsibility for these failings and have commenced a long-term action plan in response to the report’s recommendations. Trustees have apologised to AMND creatives and company and RET staff."

RET Co-chairs Afshan D’Souza-lodhi and Jo Taylor said in the statement: "While we are reassured that the review did not support accusations of censorship, we recognise that more needs to be done to support artists and other partners, especially in a period of leadership transition.

"The Board apologises to all those involved in the production, whose work was not able to be seen, as well as to staff and audiences for these shortcomings. We are embarking on a process designed to reinstate our organisation’s core values, culture and guiding principles, led by senior management with support from the Board.

"Change of this scale takes time in order to be truly impactful, but this work has already started and we commit to prioritising it so that significant progress can be made over the next six months. The Board’s commitment to ambitious and courageous work at the Royal Exchange remains undiminished."

The independent review says its recommendations "provide the theatre with a unique opportunity to reaffirm a commitment to bold, brave and ambitious programming and to turn systemic challenges into catalysts for positive change".

It said: "The Royal Exchange Theatre has a history of producing bold, brave and ambitious work, but its handling of A Midsummer Night's Dream revealed significant systemic organisational and leadership failures rather than the deliberate suppression of political content. The lack of senior artistic leadership and properly documented producing processes created conditions where legitimate concerns about artistic developments in the production became entangled with allegations of censorship."

The principal recommendation is that the theatre embarks on a programme of change "wherein it restates its commitment to artistic innovation and daring, and publicly acknowledges the leadership failures that led to the cancellation of AMND."