While a national debate regarding religious satire and the First Amendment remains ongoing, a group of free speech advocates and artists hoped to become a part of the discussion next month.
Despite months of planning, they were informed Tuesday their series of short plays addressing censorship of arts and culture was canceled by a New York venue over concerns one of the acts might be offensive to Muslims.
According to The New York Times, the “Playwrights for a Cause” event was set to feature four new short plays about censorship of the arts on June 14 at the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture in Greenwich Village.
While the event was intended to combat censorship, William Spencer Reilly, the executive director of the non-sectarian venue, essentially censored it over an act regarding Mohammed, which is sexual in nature.
The title in question: Mohammed Gets a Boner.
The act is a monologue by Neil LaBute, a critically acclaimed screenwriter, filmmaker and playwright, and is at odds with the Sheen Center’s mission statement, which states the venue hopes to serve both Catholic and non-Catholic audiences.
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