INDIE THEATRE FLAYED FOR PALESTINE STANCE

One of Perth’s most prominent independent theatre groups has been accused of creating an unsafe space for members of the Jewish community after it issued a public “statement of solidarity” towards Palestine.

The Blue Room Theatre posted a statement on social media declaring that it stood in solidarity with the Palestinian people while slamming Israel over its conduct during the conflict.

“By starving Gaza, bombing hospitals and cutting off food, medicine, fuel and humanitarian aid, Israel is committing genocide and war crimes,” the theatre’s statement read.

“We support Palestinian liberation. We urge our Australian government to support Pales­tine’s freedom by demanding an immediate ceasefire, an end to the Gaza blockade, an end to Israeli occupation, oppression, apartheid and ethnic cleansing.”

The theatre has long been a launching pad for young Perth talent and has Western Australia’s prominent Chaney family among its biggest backers.

Its main sources of funding come from federal and state government agencies.

The statement says the theatre condemns Islamophobia, antiSemitism and all other forms of hate speech but concludes with the phrase “From the river to the sea. Always was, always will be.”

That phrase has been labelled anti-Semitic and is widely interpreted as a call for the extinction of the Jewish state.

The theatre’s statement did not include any reference to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1200 people.

The Blue Room’s pronouncement echoes the controversy around the Sydney Theatre Company after three actors wore keffiyeh scarfs in solidarity with Palestine during a curtain call.

Several STC board members including former Qantas chief Alan Joyce and billionaire philanthropist Gretel Packer resigned in the wake of the action, with the STC ultimately issuing an apology for the episode.

One Perth Jewish arts professional, who did not want to be named for fear of retribution, said Jewish people in the Perth arts community had been left feeling distressed, disappointed and disgusted by the theatre’s statement.

“Personally, I find it deeply troubling that an organisation like the Blue Room Theatre, so committed to inclusion and the development of emerging artists, can post something like this,” she said. “It achieves nothing and signals that the venue doesn’t much care for Jewish creatives and arts professionals.

“How can you walk in the door at the Blue Room Theatre and believe that they are genuine about inclusion when they’re happy to post like this online?”

She said the theatre’s statement sat at odds with the group’s “Equity & Justice Action Plan”, which includes commitments to “reduce the barriers for people from under-represented groups to participate in our organisation and programs”, understand a broader range of cultural norms, and implement safe and inclusive practices.

“If you want people from under-represented groups to feel that they can participate in your programs and arts workers to feel safe working for your organisation, you need to maintain a safe space for everyone,” she said.

“There’s a dangerously casual and arbitrary racism to The Blue Room Theatre statement that’s being overlooked in the generally overheated conversation we’re having about Gaza. Safety at work applies to everyone.”

The Blue Room has been a fixture of Perth’s art scene for decades. It was the venue for Tim Minchin’s first musical, and actor Kate Mulvaney and comedian Claire Hooper both performed there in their early days.

The theatre’s biggest donors include former deputy Liberal Party leader Fred Chaney; former Supreme Court judge John ­Chaney; and Margrete Helgeby Chaney, wife of company director Michael Chaney.

Perth investment manager Willy Packer and former Labor MP Linda Savage are listed in the theatre’s “giving circle”.

Fred Chaney declined to comment when contacted by The Weekend Australian. The Blue Room Theatre was contacted.

Alex Ryvchin, from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the theatre had chosen a path of division and exclusion.