Sex workers accuse Griffin, Malthouse of exploitation

The theatre companies deny claims that Peta Brady's Ugly Mugs exploits sex workers, saying it is a work of fiction.
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Steve Le Marquand and Peta Brady in a scene from Ugly Mugs.

A Malthouse/Griffin co-production, Ugly Mugs – inspired in part by the 2013 murder of St Kilda sex worker Tracy Connelly and currently showing in Sydney – has come under attack, with allegations raised that it represents ‘both a breach of trust and an alarming low point in exploitation of sex workers’.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts