Regina's Globe Theatre Called In Police Protection After Online Hate Campaign Targeted Production
Uniformed officers sat through final performances of "Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer" following threats against actors and staff
Regina's Globe Theatre brought in uniformed police officers and additional private security to protect performers and staff during the closing week of Kevin Loring's Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer, after a viral video triggered a wave of online threats and harassment, CBC News reports.
The trouble began earlier this month when a clip surfaced online showing a group of Grade 12 students from Regina's Campbell Collegiate leaving a performance during the second act, as an actor in drag performed a pole dance. The footage spread rapidly across far-right websites in Canada and the United Kingdom, drawing hundreds of comments. While some questioned the decision to bring high school students to the production, others escalated into direct threats against individual cast members and theatre employees.
Globe Theatre executive director Oz Weaver told CBC the response was overwhelming. "It blew up really quickly and in a really uncontrolled manner," he said. Voicemails and inboxes belonging to box office and senior staff filled up with hostile messages, some severe enough that the theatre referred them to Regina police for investigation.
Concerned that the threats could turn physical, the company arranged for two uniformed officers to attend each remaining performance - one stationed in the front row near the actors, the other positioned in the upper level.
Written by Governor General's Literary Award-winning playwright Kevin Loring, Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer centres on the last member of a tribe attempting to stop a development company from destroying his ancestral land. The play contains mature language and sexual content, which the Globe disclosed prominently on its website. Theatre staff also reached out directly to schools planning to attend, sharing the script with teachers and principals so they could review the material in advance.
Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer concluded its run at The Globe Theatre on Sunday, May 17.
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