Plan to stage Behzti cancelled

Playwright Bhatti sent her request to the company to cancel the shows.

The Birmingham Stage Company abandoned its plans to stage Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's play Behzti, following the receipt of death threats to her.

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In hiding fearing assassination, Bhatti sent her request to the company to cancel the shows.

Neal Foster, who runs the Birmingham Stage Company, had called for the theatre world to unite to stage simultaneous readings of Behzti (Dishonour), which was dropped by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre after the mass protest by Sikh activists.

Foster, who earlier condemned the decision to cancel the play and called it as an act of cowardice, has now admitted feeling "defeated".

Bhatti contacted him on Tuesday night asking him to shelve the idea saying threats against her had "increased".

Foster was quoted saying: "She left a message on my mobile saying she is aware of what I am proposing and, because of the situation she's in, she has asked me to permanently suspend my plans."

"She's in hiding because of threats made to her and her actual words were that those threats have increased. I've tried to find some solution to this problem, one that would allow the play to be given life, but now I just feel defeated. Obviously,I acquiesce to her wishes, as she's the writer. I wouldn't want to do anything that she wouldn't want to be done."

Home Office Minister Fiona Mactaggart denied that proposed new legislation to outlaw incitement to hatred on grounds of religion would have made any difference in this case.

"There's nobody suggesting that this play would incite hatred of the Sikh community," she said. "It does distress the Sikh community and they exercised their free speech to protest. I am sorry some of these protests became violent, but, nevertheless, this play and the right to put on art which is offensive ­ is not at all influenced by the law we are introducing."