Complaints Cancel Theatre Production

Give Us This Day Our Daily Pound, A DNA Theatre production for the Harbourfront World Stage, has been cancelled following complaints from the public after Thursday night's dress rehearsal.

The show, which was to have played in Harbourfront's pond area yesterday, today and tomorrow, was an experimental work based on the poems of Ezra Pound. The complaints came from people in the cafe section, who were "insulted, offended and harassed" by cast members, said World Stage assistant programmer Nigel Hunt yesterday. He added that the show was to have stayed outside in the pond area, and not moved into the cafe, "which is a public space."

"It was very confrontational," Hunt said of the piece, directed by DNA founder and artistic director Hillar Liitoja. "After the dress rehearsal we asked Hillar to make some changes, and he said no."

"I've seen a lot of what DNA does," Hunt said, "and I appreciate what they do ... But there are certain things they couldn't do at Harbourfront because of the nature of the place ... A lot of it was very daring for Harbourfront, and wonderfully beautiful. I'm sorry they blew the opportunity to be seen by a lot of people."

DNA's administrator, Adrian Foster, said, "There was nothing wrong with the stuff they wanted us to change. There was no foul language and no nudity."

Foster said that originally DNA had been assured the cafe space could be used, and that there should have been no surprises in the "interactive" theatre piece.

He said the changes demanded by Harbourfront would have affected half the length of the show, and involved five "insulters," a cast member playing "schoolmarm" to the cafe's patrons "and the two women in lingerie – not nude, not see-through, merely alluring." There were 26 cast members and six crew members in the show.

"Essentially, Harbourfront knew what it was getting ... they knew it would be loud; they know the work we do."

H.J.Kirchhoff

The Globe and Mail, June 11, 1988

Harbourfront Cancels Play After Gripes

Harbourfront has cancelled a controversial play that included a scene in which a scantily dressed woman with a riding crop verbally attacked the audience.

The decision to cancel this weekend's performances of DNA Theatre's Give Us This Day Our Daily Pound was made yesterday after complaints from the public after a rehearsal.

The free, environmental show was to have been held in and around Harbourfront's Water's Edge Cafe as part of the du Maurier World Stage festival.

DNA Theatre was asked to make adjustments to "some of the offensive and confrontational material" in the show, but director Hillar Liitoja refused, festival assistant Nigel Hunt said yesterday.

"The Water's Edge is a public space and we can't afford to have people's health threatened."

But Liitoja said that the cuts Harbourfront had demanded would mean "junking the whole show. We were taken aback at the enormity of their demands."

The cuts included a passage in which a schoolmarm gave dictation to the audience, a scene featuring a woman in a corset and another involving the woman with the riding crop, he said.

The company had announced this was an environmental show and invited anyone who was offended to leave.

"We were hired to perform in this location," Liitoja said. "Harbourfront did not post any notices to announce that this was a rehearsal. They did not live up to their end of the deal."

Replying to Harbourfront claims that chairs had been thrown into the pond outside the cafe, Liitoja said the chairs had been placed in the water as part of the set.

Robert Crew

Toronto Star, June 11, l988