QTC self-censorship drama: politics is a responsibility of funding

With state funding comes responsibility to address political issues, argues Ben Eltham.
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‘hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil…’ by Natalia Campbell on Redbubble

When playwright Jonathan Biggins decided to write in a new line about Queensland politics for the Brisbane production of his play Australia Day, it must have seemed like a perfectly normal amendment. After all, the play was overtly political, a satire on local government and the small stakes and high tensions at play. No-one could have predicted that a joke with Campbell Newman as its punchline would have sparked a major crisis in the Queensland Theatre Company and end up as a minor footnote in the politics of Queensland itself.

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Ben Eltham
About the Author
Ben Eltham is ArtsHub's industry columnist.