Shropshire Star

Kit Harington says criticism of black-only play nights is vaguely ridiculous

The idea has been previously criticised as ‘wrong and divisive’.

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Kit Harington at the Game Of Thrones premiere in Belfast in April 2019

Kit Harington has hit back at criticism of black-only nights for West End plays as “vaguely ridiculous”.

The 37-year-old Game Of Thrones actor is in the cast of Slave Play at the Noel Coward Theatre, which has set aside two performances aimed at an “all-black-identifying audience” which is “free from the white gaze”.

A spokesman for then prime minister Rishi Sunak criticised the idea in February as being “wrong and divisive”.

Harrington defended the theatrical production following the first black-out performance, and told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme he believes it is “an incredibly positive thing” .

He said: “Number one – if you are white, no-one’s stopping you buying a ticket, it’s not illegal to buy a ticket for that show, if you want to come. It’s saying ‘We would prefer the audience to be this’.

“Number two – I’ve been going to the theatre since I was young, with my mum. I’ve only ever really known predominantly white audiences. It is still a particularly white space.

“So to have the argument that ‘Oh, this is discriminating against white people’ is, I think, vaguely strange and ridiculous.”

Harrington also called it “unlike anything I’ve ever experienced” because it provides a space where “a certain group of people can come and feel open to laughing in a certain way, reacting in a certain way, in sort of safety”.

However, he warned that audiences could feel “sucker-punched” by the play because the actors are “saying words to each other, at each other, that you shouldn’t and don’t hear uttered in society”.

The MET Gala 2019 – New York
Slave Play was written by Jeremy O Harris (Jennifer Graylock/PA)

Harington also said he is “kind of terrified” each night due to being naked during the play.

His co-star, I’m A Virgo actress Olivia Washington, daughter of two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington, said she thinks the play is “positive” because with “difficult subject matter, it can get hard for people to hear”.

She added: “However, to feel supported by this room in a different kind of way felt just… it felt really great.”

The production, playing from June 29 until September 21, has its second black-out night on September 17.

Previously staged on Broadway, the play was nominated for 12 Tony Awards and tells a story of “race, identity and sexuality” at the MacGregor Plantation in the southern US during the early 21st century.

The writer, Emily In Paris star Jeremy O Harris, has defended the production, saying it is not just for “black-only” audiences and there will be no restrictions on the black-out nights.

The producers said “no-one will be prevented or precluded from attending any performance of Slave Play”.

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
Actor Stephen Fry, appearing on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, defended black-only theatre nights as a ‘fair idea’ (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA)

Comedian and actor Stephen Fry, who also appeared on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, also defended it as a “fair idea” which will encourage more diverse theatregoers.

Harington has previously said a spin-off about his Game Of Thrones character, Jon Snow, is no longer in development, but told the BBC he hopes there will be a return.

“At the moment, there isn’t the right story to tell there for him and so it’s best just to leave it because you don’t want to ruin a kind of beloved character by taking it too far,” he said.

Harington is married to his Game Of Thrones co-star Rose Leslie, who played his love interest Ygritte in the series, and they have two children.

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