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Letter: Stratford Festival 'pandering to wokeness movement'

Dear Editor,

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I read with interest Antoni Cimolino’s recent letter to the editor defending the Stratford Festival pandering to the wokeness movement. He wants everyone to feel welcome and appreciated by being better reflected in the productions. Very nice.

Distroscale

I’ll wager that his canned land acknowledgement that begins every performance will not increase the proportion of Huron-Wendat or Anishanaabe in the audience by even a fraction of a percent. Likewise, increasing the proportion of actors of colour in the company, and adding LGBTQ+ friendly shows to the playbill, will not increase the proportion of those groups in the audience either.

The real target of this shrewd marketing are progressive white liberals like himself, who get to enjoy the glow of self-satisfaction for the price of admission. But as the major sports leagues are discovering, mixing politics with entertainment might turn more people off. Consumers of culture get enough tribal identity politics in their social media feeds these days; they aren’t looking for more of it when they go out on the town.

There’s no substitute for artistic merit. That’s what a theatre company is supposed to be all about. Try defending your choices on that basis, Antoni.

Sincerely,

Grant A. Brown
Stratford
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