Bad Jews poster 'censored' on London Tube

The play's producer said the show could 'not be less anti-Semitic'

Daisy Wyatt
Friday 06 March 2015 15:08 GMT
The poster for comedy Bad Jews has been banned by London Underground
The poster for comedy Bad Jews has been banned by London Underground

London Underground has banned a poster for the play Bad Jews after it ruled it may cause "widespread or serious offence".

The poster contains the name of the show, three cast members fighting and some press quotes.

Producer Danny Moar said the decision seemed like censorship, adding that the play “could not be less ant-Semitic”.

“Half the cast are Jewish, I’m Jewish, the writer [Joshua Harmon] is Jewish and the word ‘bad’ in the title, in so far as it matters, doesn’t mean ‘evil’ – it means ‘non-observant,’” he said.

Jenna Augen and Ilan Goodman in 'Bad Jews'

“This is a form of censorship which is so weird and ironic when, in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo events, everyone marched against censorship,” he told The Evening Standard.

The first advertising campaign for the production prompted one complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority.

A spokesperson for Transport for London said the new poster was rejected because it was “likely to cause widespread or serious offence to members of the public on account of the nature of the product or service being advertised, the wording or design of the advertisement or by way of inference”.

The play, which received a five-star review from the Jewish Chronicle, is transferring from the St James Theatre in Victoria to the Arts Theatre on 18 March.

A poster for the play My Night With Reg that featured male nudity was previously banned from the London Underground.

TFL also rejected a bus poster from the Christian group Core Issues Trust that suggested gay people could change their sexuality with help from others.

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