New Earth Theatre and Storyhouse cancels play at Sheffield Crucible over Miss Saigon revival
New Earth Theatre and Storyhouse have cancelled plans to bring their play WORTH to Sheffield Crucible over the venue’s planned Miss Saigon revival.
The co-producers issued a statement explaining they had made the decision to withdraw the planned run in June 2023 due to Sheffield Theatres’ plans to produce Miss Saigon in the same period.
The statement reads: “Miss Saigon remains a very contentious musical since its release over thirty years ago, having hurt and angered many viewers due to its highly problematic narrative and portrayal of the Vietnam War and Vietnamese people. The damaging tropes, misogyny and racism inherent in the show completely contradict New Earth and Storyhouse’s values and beliefs, where we centre stories from a BESEA perspective in order to portray a truer understanding of that experience.
“We recognise concerns from our team that working alongside a musical that perpetuates deeply held notions of Asian inferiority would impact their wellbeing. Our commitment to our cast, creatives and technical staff needs to come first.
“We acknowledge that there are a multitude of opinions in this conversation and would like to thank those people we have talked to already for their honesty.
“Sheffield Theatres have heard our reasons for withdrawal and we are working on a means of engaging in a wider conversation that encourages them to address their tackling of the problematic and complex issues raised by this production in a transparent way.”
In response, the Sheffield venue said in their own statement: “We respect New Earth’s decision and hope Sheffield audiences will be able to enjoy the work of this important company in the future. Respect and care for all of our artists, staff and visiting companies will always be a priority for us.
“There is no denying that past versions of this story have provoked strong reactions and feelings. We have approached this new production sensitive to this and believe this is a chance for us to engage in a fresh way with a majority East and South East Asian company reframing the story.
“Both in the lead up to the announcement of this project and throughout this ongoing process, the creative team led by Robert Hastie and Anthony Lau, have been in close conversation with members of the BESEA community and are keen to continue discussing their plans with concerned artists to keep a positive and inclusive dialogue open.”
Sheffield Theatres’ Artistic Director Robert Hastie and RTYDS Associate Artistic Director Anthony Lau, who are set to direct the revival, have spoken about their decision to produce the show.
Meanwhile BEATS, an advocacy group for British East & South East Asians creatives, has issued a statement on Sheffield Crucible’s planned production.
