Wednesday 2 November 2011

Approved English Heritage Only…

… Mr Tinson said that after initially being told by management that they were happy with the play, he was later asked to tone down the parts dealing with the war because its content would 'offend' visitors.
Surely, it’d offend only Nazis, and we can still offend them. Can’t we?
In a statement, Charlie Fear, events manager at Pendennis Castle, said: 'It's unfortunate that we've had to pull Mr Tinson's play and we will reimburse him for his time and effort.

'This was our first time working with Mr Tinson and we were unable to agree on the right approach for our event. The tours will still go ahead but the script is by a different writer, one with whom we've worked in the past.'
And who is therefore willing to write whatever you want, regardless of historical accuracy?

11 comments:

Woman on a Raft said...

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Playwright-quits-castle-request-sanitise-history/story-13677625-detail/story.html

Mr Tinson said he had originally been told that English Heritage "loved" the play. He was then asked to remove references to homosexuality, but refused point-blank to make further changes.

In an email to Mr Tinson, Charlie Fear, events manager at Pendennis Castle, said: "We have to remove any references to sex and any swear words, including bloody. I would like the references to Poland, Jews and Nazis removed too please. Our visitors would be offended by the content and it is essential this does not happen."

The play is based around two men and uses different parts of the castle to look at various periods of its history. In one scene a soldier tells how he was on the cross-channel ferry when war broke out.

He explains that he was working for his Jewish grandfather in Poland but was sent back to England when the "Nazis started rounding up the Jews".

Mr Tinson said expunging all mention of Nazis and Jews would "eviscerate the play".

He added: "Why do they think the battle observation post was built, if not to oppose the Nazis who were busy oppressing the Polish Jews at the time?"

(emphasis mine).

OK, I can just about see that as it wasn't only Jews who were on the Nazi hit list it might be too complex a subject for that setting. But I don't see how you can possibly expunge references to Poland and the Nazi party.

Makes you wonder if Charlie Fear understands the most famous discourse on the subject, set just up the coast in Torquay.

MTG said...

If conquerors write History, supreme reality is the least concerned with petty quangos.

Captain Haddock said...

"Charlie Fear" .. by both name & nature, it would seem ..

Anonymous said...

^ I know, Jaded. Very inadvisable for plod to contemplate without cranial strap and seizure harness.

Anonymous said...

Dear Anonymous/MTG? above.If you wish to insult me then at least give me a clue what you are on about.Or are you running out of medication?
Jaded

Captain Haddock said...

What Jaded said ...

Marionette de Chaussette said...

Very inadvisable for plod to contemplate without cranial strap and seizure harness

Good old anonymous, incoherent and malapropos as ever.

JuliaM said...

"Makes you wonder if Charlie Fear understands the most famous discourse on the subject, set just up the coast in Torquay."

I suspect he only understands one thing, and that's the - probably far too large - pay cheque he gets from EH..

Anonymous said...

@ Marionette de Chaussette

Magnifique!

Anonymous said...

Ooops, I forgot to include the snork and heh!

DerekP said...

Wondering how the conversation might have gone:
"Right, I've replaced 'bliztkrieg' with 'shopping spree', 'death camps' with 'chalets', and 'panzers' with 'pansies'...Hey, get your hands off me I'm referring to the flowers not the gays who were murdered by the suspiciously-overbutch Nazis."