MAILBOX
IMPOSSIBLE STANDARDS The List’s managing director Simon Dessain offers a personal opinion of the boycotting of Israeli theatre group Incubator at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
I disagreed with the position taken by the group of people in the Scottish arts who wrote a letter to The Herald suggesting that the Underbelly should cancel the run of The City, the state-funded show from Israel at the Edinburgh Fringe. I also disagreed with those who maintained that the group who wrote the letter were in any way racist or anti-Semitic. Subsequently an issue has arisen as a result of actions by the Tricycle Theatre in London causing the cancellation of the Jewish Film Festival after eight years. The theatre demanded the ending of the sponsorship for the Festival from the Israeli Embassy in London.
I do not believe this position, on this country, at this time can be justii ed. In every country of the UN, there is direct or indirect support for the arts delivered through a variety of mechanisms. If it is not the company, promoter or artist receiving the i nancial aid (for example in Germany), it may be more circuitous via social security (as in France) or direct to the venue, gallery or space involved (such as in the UK).
As soon as any closer analysis is
made of the arts in an individual nation it is all but impossible to make any clear distinction between those activities with state support and those without. So my i rst objection is that I consider it useless
to draw such a distinction as a basis for action. I chose the example countries above with some care. Whilst many in the arts disagree aggressively, vehemently and fundamentally with actions that each of these nations have taken at some recent time, on some serious matters, I have not heard any suggestion that we should seek to undermine the free expression of their artistic endeavours (with or without state funding).
Changing the countries brings this position into sharper focus. China, Russia and Zimbabwe make for uncomfortable scrutiny. It would be easy to i nd consensus that these countries
have all behaved in totally unacceptable ways involving the deaths of hundreds of their own people or near neighbours. Yet we have seen no suggestion that we should boycott their arts output. The Mariinsky Ballet performed at Covent Garden very recently, as it happens with a British principal dancer, without any objection.
I would support an approach by
which we more consistently measured the policies and the behaviour of other countries but I see no evidence of any attempt to create such guidelines. I therefore think it wrong to suppress
the arts output of one country, at one point in time.
GRAPHIC CONTENT What we’ve been talking about this month
FESTIVAL FATIGUE
HURRICANE BERTHA
RAINING ON TOURISTS
REFERENDUM FEVER
HURRICANE
BERTHA RAINING ON US
2 THE LIST 21 Aug–18 Sep 2014
ROBIN WILLIAMS
AND LAUREN
BACALL RIP
CONTRIBUTORS Publisher & General Editor
Robin Hodge Director Simon Dessain
EDITORIAL Acting Editor Yasmin Sulaiman
Research Manager
Kirstyn Smith Senior Researcher
Jaclyn Arndt Research
Alex Johnston, Rowena McIntosh,
Rebecca Monks, Henry Northmore, Murray Robertson Editorial Assistant Colin Robertson
SALES & MARKETING Media Sales Manager
Chris Knox Senior Media Sales Executives
Nicky Carter, Debbie Thomson
Digital Sales Executive
Joe McManus Sales Support Executive
Jessica Rodgers Digital Business
Development Director
Brendan Miles Partnership Director
Sheri Friers
PRODUCTION Production Director
Simon Armin Senior Designer
Lucy Munro
DIGITAL Web Editor Hamish Brown Digital Production Editor
Niki Boyle
Senior Developer Andy Carmichael Senior Designer Bruce Combe
Software Developer
Iain McCusker Senior DBA Andy Bowles
Digital Design Associate
Jen Devonshire Social Media Editor
Jen Bowden
Digital Production Assistant Maud Sampson
ADMINISTRATION
Accounts Manager Sarah Reddie
Events and Administration
Assistant Jade Regulski
SECTION EDITORS Around Town Kirstyn Smith
Books Yasmin Sulaiman Clubs Rosie Davies
Comedy Brian Donaldson Dance/Kids Kelly Apter
Film Reviews Emma Simmonds Film Scotland/Up Front Niki Boyle
Food & Drink Donald Reid LGBT Kaite Welsh
Music/Shopping Claire Sawers
News David Kettle
Staying In Henry Northmore Theatre Gareth K Vile
Visual Art Rachael Cloughton
Published by The List Ltd
HEAD OFFICE: 14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE Tel: 0131 550 3050, Fax: 0131 557 8500,
list.co.uk, email editor@list.co.uk GLASGOW OFFICE: at the CCA,
350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3JD Tel: 0141 332 9929, glasgow@list.co.uk
ISSN: 0959 - 1915
©2014 The List Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden without the written
permission of the publishers. The List does not accept responsibility for unsolicited material. The List provides this content in good faith but no guarantee or representation is given that the
content is accurate, complete or up-to-date. Use of magazine content is at your own risk. Printed by Acorn Web Offset Ltd, W.Yorkshire.
Subscriptions: 30 issues UK £30