The BBC reports that the Millennium Centre was blessed with a record number of anti-Springer protestors last night – as well as the highest ticket sales of the tour so far.
Archbishop Barry Morgan gave his usual quote:
It really does belittle the Christian faith and if something like this was produced about the Prophet Muhammad there would be a riot.
UPDATE: The BNP were in attendance at the Cardiff demo.
Thanks to the MWW reader who sent in this picture of a placard held by an anti-Springer protestor in Liverpool.
The bottom of the sign reads “Jesus is God”.
UPDATE: It should be noted that the placard was wielded by a solo protestor, who stood apart from the main body of the anti-Springer crowd. Still funny, though.
According to ICLiverpool by Adrian Butler, either “hundreds” or “around 1000″ anti-JS:TO protestors turned up at the opening night at the Liverpool Empire.
They sang hymns and waved placards saying things like “Theatre backs hate”, “They wouldn’t treat Mohammed this way”, and “Springer Opera Mocks our Faith”.
For a man concerned with standards in the media, Massah John Beyer apparently sees nothing wrong with flouting the rules of Wikipedia. He has continued to make alterations to his own biography, twice returning three times in the same day to remove critical paragraphs (violating official Wikipedia policy).
The Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff has rejected calls from over 100 churches to cancel Jerry Springer: The Opera. The letter from the church leaders parotted most of the usual complaints, including the classic “I cannot imagine the Millennium Centre staging a show which mocked any other religion in this way.”
The WMC responded:
History is full of controversial pieces of art which today appear tame.
Jerry Springer – The Opera may be thought provoking, but then again art should both challenge and entertain people.
WMC respects the rights of people to express their views and we have dealt sensitively with all those who have written to us with their comments.
Theatre director Michael Bogdanov added:
If you give in to what is, in fact, a minority protest then you are on a slippery slope not just to censorship but to a kind of Stalinist regime where everything is repressed.
Sir David Rowe-Beddoe is chairman on both the Millennium Centre and the Church in Wales’ Representative Board. This has led to calls from Stephen “Dog Shit” Green of Christian Voice has called for his resignation from one of his posts:
His position is completely untenable and he cannot carry on in both roles.
Only if he subscribes to the same narrow, censorious version of xianity as Green. Many xians do not.
UPDATE: Archbishop of Wales, Barry Morgan, has distanced himself from Christian Voice by backing to Rowe-Beddoe.
The Hindu Human Rights group wrote a letter to the Guardian last week in which they defended their protest against Asia House. In it they seek to equate the disrespectful representation of their deities with actual physical abuse of Hindus throughout the world.
But deities don’t have rights, any more than ancient semi-mythical sons and/or messengers of deities.
Read Ophelia on the letter.
The Muslim Council of Britain has just voted in a new General Secretary to replace Sir Iqbal Sacranie. Since his election in 2002 Sir Iqbal has done a decent job of looking like Stephen Green. But the new incumbent, Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, looks set to take the role to new heights.
MediaWatchWatch was set up in January 2005 in reaction to the religious campaign against the BBC's broadcasting of Jerry Springer: the Opera.
We keep an eye on those groups and individuals who, in order to protect their beliefs from offence, seek to limit freedom of expression. And we make fun of them.
If you have any information, email The Monitor.
