A production in British Columbia of Charles Dicken’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood is under attack for its use of white actors in dark make up to appear South Asian, reports the CBC News.
Actor Anita Majumdar who is South Asian says the use of brownface comes from another time when theater goers and producers were less enlightened.
“We know better now,” she said.
The Langham Court which produced the play defended its decision as satire.
“This was a white actress satirizing people who in the time of the musical portrayed Ceylonese people by putting on darker make-up,” said Keith Digby. “The way you do that is by putting on darker make-up. Otherwise it wouldn’t be a satire.”
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Does satire give someone the right to offend? Go to CBC News and listen to an audio interview in which Majumdar talks about once performing in whiteface. Then give us your thoughts in our comments section below.
