Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

Welcome to the theatre of the absurd

Stratford East Theatre Royal Stratford (Alamy) 
issue 27 May 2023

Iam on the horns of a dilemma, I am in a moral quandary. I had intended to spend this morning reporting a hate crime to the Metropolitan Police regarding the Theatre Royal Stratford East and the forthcoming appearance by a duo called Tambo & Bones. According to the blurb, this performance invites the audience to ‘join their journey from comedy double-act, to hip-hop superstars, to activists in an America at the epicentre of the global Black Lives Matter movement’. And therein lies my problem, because – if I am being honest – I would rather have my wisdom teeth extracted without anaesthetic by Helen Keller than join Tambo & Bones on their remarkable journey. As a
consequence, my complaint to the Old Bill might be considered hypocritical and I would be another one of those tiresome people getting offended at something which I had no real intention of witnessing. A meddlesome busybody, in other words.

If I were to put on a play and said that I only wanted white people to see it, I would be in big trouble

That a hate crime has been committed is beyond all reasonable doubt.

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