Some artists and theatre workers are calling for change at Saskatoon’s Persephone Theatre after claims of what they call racist behaviour.
An open letter penned to the organization’s board of directors calls for a host of changes at the theatre, including introducing anti-racism initiatives and putting a cap of 70 per cent on the number of non-minority actors.
“This Blackout Square fiasco is not an isolated incident. It is merely the latest in a long history of discriminatory behaviour established by the leadership of Persephone Theatre,” the letter states.
“For years, Persephone Theatre has neglected to appropriately respond to incidents of racism and racially charged violence within its walls.”
The letter comes amid online controversy.
Last week, the theatre posted a black square on its Facebook page, meant to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
But the post sparked backlash, with critics accusing the theatre of a lack of diversity. That post was deleted, which only caused a greater backlash.
“They didn’t even caption the image with Black Lives Matter or Blackout Tuesday,” said Lauren Allen, a former employee of the theatre. She spoke to Global News as part of the group that penned an open letter calling for change.
“They didn’t even affiliate themselves completely with the movement, so it was very clear they were just kind of jumping on a bandwagon without putting anything behind what they were saying.”
Allen considers herself white, and while she herself has not experienced racism at the theatre, some of her Black and Indigenous friends have.
“There has been a history of incidents at Persephone Threatre of racism and intimidation, feeling like we couldn’t talk about what was actually happening to us,” she said.
The theatre later made a post on social media that said the image was deleted in error.
“We had meant to replace the image, not silence the comments,” read a post on the theatre’s Facebook page at the time.
“Nevertheless, that egregious error resulted in pain and harm was done.”
A few days after the online criticism, Del Surjik resigned as the theatre’s artistic director.
In a statement, Surjik said that change is needed at the theatre and that it must start at the top.
“As the artistic leader, I am responsible for these shortcomings. Now, given the urgency of this moment in our society, it’s clear that the best thing I can do to help Persephone move forward is to step aside and make room,” he said in a statement.
“I welcome the coming change, but I am not the right person to make it happen. I am doing my own work and self-assessment and look forward to seeing how Persephone will evolve.”
Surjik, who was with Persephone for nearly 13 years, said the organization has much work to do to support, respect and amplify Indigenous artists, Black artists and artists of colour.
In a statement online, the president of the theatre’s board of directors wrote it will work on anti-racism and discrimination policies and help elevate diverse voices.
“We commit to engage in ongoing discussions with our community, take corrective action, and embed anti-racism and anti-oppression into our policies and practices going forward in our organization.”