Since then,a show has been called off,subscribers have cancelled and two foundation board members,PR veteran Judi Hausmann and Alex Schuman,CEO of fashion house Carla Zampatti,have resigned.
Now,writer and formerSydney Morning Herald columnist Ruth Ritchie,who has been a member of the board that oversees the theatre company’s fundraising efforts for the past three years,has also resigned because of what she says is the “awkward silence” from STC leadership. All three members who have resigned are Jewish.
“This is the time for awkward difficult conversations,” Ritchie told her fellow foundation board members,who include actors Hugo Weaving,father of one the protesters,Mia Wasikowska and Heather Mitchell,performer Tim Minchin and philanthropists Gretel Packer and Frances Ingham,in a letter.
“Saying nothing is worse than saying the wrong thing. If you don’t feel confident about your position on the war,rights to free speech,or the place for appropriate protest,do the homework,examine your conscience and step up to listen and to speak,” she said in her resignation letter.
“Our ‘three-dumb-monkey’ noncommittal posture is as powerful as a scarf in a curtain call or a resignation in high dudgeon... In silence,we just walk around with our shoelaces undone,about to trip over and make things worse,” she said.
“There will be anotherSeagull Three at your beloved ballet,museum,symphony,theatre,festival or library. Let’s not canonise or demonise artists or be surprised by their protest.