A scene from Rare Earth Mettle at the Royal Court Theatre
(Picture: Helen Murray)An award-winning west London theatre says its staff will get “specialist training on antisemitism” after it apologised for giving a fictional billionaire the name Hershel Fink.
An internal review into the controversy said the “name and aspects of the character’s personality could be seen as an antisemitic trope”.
Anthony Burton, who chairs the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square, said: “The Royal Court Theatre apologises unreservedly for the pain that has been caused around the production of its play Rare Earth Mettle.
“This incident fell short of the Royal Court’s own high ambitions in terms of inclusivity and anti-racism. It is committed to learning from it and clear actions have been put in place including specialist training on antisemitism.
“The Royal Court must and will become a space in which Jewish artists and other professionals can work without fear of antisemitism, as it always should have been.”
The character in Al Smith’s play was the boss of an electric car company who was portrayed as greedy and manipulative.
The name was eventually changed but the theatre admitted that was only after initial concerns had been ignored.
Its report found the controversy hit ticket sales with the show playing to only 39% of its capacity but said that “longer-term impacts on ticket sales, donors and staff, are, as yet, unclear.”
It added it had received 19 letters of complaint and four individual supporters and two corporate supporters had not renewed their annual support.
The Royal Court traces its history back to the 1950s when it emerged as the home for new writers including John Osborne whose Look Back in Anger was premiered there in 1956.
Other writers to have work shown on its stage include Arnold Wesker, Caryl Churchill, Sarah Kane and Mark Ravenhill.
Its recent hits include Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman, Laura Wade’s Posh and Hangmen by Martin McDonagh.
