National Theatre of Scotland Reviews White-Only Mandatory Training for Brian Cox Play at Dundee Rep

The National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) has launched a review after it was revealed that white actors in the upcoming Brian Cox play "Make it Happen" were told to attend misogyny and oppression awareness training, while black performers were excused from the requirement, according to a report by The Times.

The NTS policy now requires performers and production staff to take “anti-oppression training” before rehearsals for new productions. For "Make it Happen" at Dundee Rep, which stars Brian Cox, the training was intended to “examine how systemic inequality and discrimination manifest with a particular focus on anti-racism and anti-blackness.” The training would also address themes “relevant to the production,” including “misogyny, toxic boardroom politics, power structures, internal/interpersonal/institutional/and structure relations.”

A brief for the training stated: “This training is not compulsory for people of colour or from the global majority, though their participation is entirely voluntary and welcomed.”

The review was initiated after the Free Speech Union, founded by journalist and Conservative peer Lord Young of Acton, complained that the training treated “members of one racial group less favourably than members of others.” The union stated that the specific exemption for black performers implied the “training is only mandatory for actors of white, European ancestry.”

The group training course, costing £1,500, was to be provided by Jess Mally, an anti-racism educator based in London. Mally’s publicly advertised training courses charge “white folks” 50 percent more than people from “the global majority.” Tickets for “white and white-passing people” are priced at £150, while disabled and LGBTQ+ people pay £120, and “black and brown” people pay £100. White people from the global majority are also encouraged to pay the £150 “white folks” fee. Mally said the pricing structure “aims to address the disproportionate material impact of racism on people of the global majority” and offers discounts for “white disabled folks and LGBTQ+ folks” because of societal discrimination.

The Free Speech Union has reported the NTS to the UK equalities watchdog, citing the Equality Act, which prohibits employers from treating staff differently based on the protected characteristic of race. The union stated: “It is plain that actors of white, European ancestry are protected under the characteristic of race by the Equality Act. Case law suggests that having good intentions is not sufficient to counter a claim of direct discrimination.”

The union referenced the case of Andrew Moyhing, a male nurse who in 2006 won a case of sex discrimination against Bart’s and the London NHS Trust after he was forbidden from carrying out certain procedures on female patients without a chaperone. The tribunal found Moyhing had reasonable grounds to find the policy “demeaning and irritating.”

The Free Speech Union said: “By forcing actors of white, European ancestry to undertake training as a mandatory contractual term, NTS is treating them less favourably on the basis of a protected characteristic than actors from different backgrounds for whom the training isn’t mandatory. While NTS may argue that it has the best of intentions, it is nevertheless acting unlawfully.” The union added that a legal exception for “a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim” would “be very unlikely” to apply.

Jackie Wylie, artistic director and chief executive of NTS, said she would investigate “the highly important issues” raised and assured Young “the matter is being treated with the utmost importance by the National Theatre of Scotland.” An NTS spokeswoman said: “Anti-oppression training is increasingly being provided by organisations in the UK. The National Theatre of Scotland offers anti-oppression training to all staff and freelancers we work with around our productions. This training is not mandatory and there is no follow-up action for anyone who does not attend. We acknowledge that use of the correct language around the offer of this training is important and this is currently under review.”