In Lee’s Billy Elliot the Musical, Billy’s friend comes to terms with his homosexuality An opera involving primary school pupils has been cancelled after the writer refused to remove references to a gay character’s sexuality.
The opera, Beached, written by Billy Elliot creator Lee Hall, was due to open later this month in Yorkshire.
Bay Primary School in Bridlington has pulled 300 pupils from the project.
Mr Hall accused Opera North, which is behind the production, of “censorship”, but the company said it “can appreciate the viewpoint of the school”.
The opera, which was due to be staged at The Spa in Bridlington, has now been cancelled and replaced with another performance.
One of the scenes that caused the controversy only involves adult characters, and includes the line: “Of course I’m queer/ That’s why I left here / So if you infer / That I prefer / A lad to a lass / And I’m working class / I’d have to concur.”
Mr Hall said he felt “hugely disappointed” for the hundreds of people in Bridlington who had been involved in the project for more than a year, but more so over the reaction to the line in opera.
“I really thought this was from another era and that a school and an opera company can make this kind of mistake, I’m baffled by it.
“Obviously I’m annoyed but I’m more upset that this type of discrimination could be acceptable to people.”
In a statement, Opera North said it “respects Lee’s rights as an author and Beached is a wonderful piece about bringing all different sections of the community together.
“On the other hand, we can appreciate the viewpoint of the school about when they make the decision to teach PSHE [Personal Social Health & Economic education] to their pupils.”
The company said it had been working on a community engagement project for two years in Bridlington and would now stage a performance on 15 July showcasing that work.
As a result of the cancellation, it is set to lose £15,000, the commissioning fee for the opera, as well as months of rehearsal time.
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