Tonight:
9°c
New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
Latest: Policeman admits murdering his fiancee — also a constable — then staging a fake car crash days before they were due to marry in St Lucia
More...
Unholy row as play to be hit by smoking ban
By Louise Jury, Evening Standard 29.06.07
White smoke drama: David Suchet in The Last Confession with Bernard Lloyd whose character Cardinal Villot lights up
Look here too
A play starring Hercule Poirot actor David Suchet looks set to be the first in London to be hit by the smoking ban.
Artists in England thought they had won an exemption from the new anti-smoking legislation that comes into effect this weekend, on 1 July.
But Westminster council has warned management of the Theatre Royal Haymarket that it may be at risk of prosecution over The Last Confession play which opens on Monday.
The theatre sought advice after its staff queried the legal position over the Vatican-set thriller about the death of Pope John Paul I in 1978. In one scene, a character called Cardinal Villot, played by Bernard Lloyd, smokes on stage.
Mark Stradling, the theatre manager, was warned by environmental officers the scene might not qualify as necessary for "artistic integrity".
As this could lay the Haymarket open to prosecution, it has told the incoming show that the scene cannot go ahead as rehearsed.
"We can't afford to let the smoking scene go ahead for fear of prosecution. To me it all seems absolutely ridiculous," he said.
"Even in New York, theatres don't have a problem with it. You can't smoke anywhere in New York but it's allowed on Broadway on stage."
The doubts over the scene emerged from a conversation among staff.
"We were all just talking last week and someone mentioned the smoking ban and were we going to have a problem and I immediately said no.
"And then I thought about it and telephoned Westminster council," said Mr Stradling.
An environment officer told him smoking was permissible in some cases, such as "if it was a play about Winston Churchill" who was a famous smoker.
It is understood that Westminster has adopted a position that it will not actively chase theatres over the new legislation,but will act on public complaints. If smoking is not an "artistic requirement," however, plays could be in breach of the law.
Audrey Lewis, the councillor for community protection at Westminster, said they were trying to raise awareness of the legislation.
"Our approach has always been to educate people about it in advance, rather than all this nonsense about 'smoking police' banging on your door," she said.
"But where there are complaints we will of course investigate them in the normal manner, much as we do with issues concerning noise."
The implementation of similar legislation has gone smoothly in other countries, so they expected the legislation to be adopted with a minimum of public fuss, she added.
Actors had previously led a revolt against an all-out smoking ban on stage, winning a concession from ministers to allow it where smoking is "integral to the plot or storyline".
MPs had raised the issue in Parliament saying West End hits such as Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? and The Graduate would be affected if they were staged after 1 July.
Theatres which allow smoking on stage where it was not permitted could be fined £2,500.
Related articles
More
Reader views (6)
I think the worst offenders are the writers and actors in Granada's Coronation Street.
- Jalan, Dawlish - England
Surely an actor should be able to mimic the act of smoking in public without any effort, especially with the aid of joke-shop props?
- Rick Doermoose, Woking, UK
The smoking ban is absolute discrimination! People, keep your heads down and do as you are told! Soon you will all become a bunch of robots being manipulated by someone out there with idiotic decisions like this.
- Lela, London
There are many other ''bad''things that should be banned before smoking in public.
But I guess we dont have freedom of choice anymore and have
to accept the dictatiorship. What is next??? Ban drinking??Breathing??
- Ceca, London, UK
Neither the Westminster City Council nor the magistrates are equipped to decide whether the "artistic integrity" exception applies in any case. This is one to leave to the theatrical professionals.
- Andrew, London
This doesn't strike me as being fair that ACTORS may be allowed to smoke whilst in character in a play because of the reason of "artistic integrity". If there is a ban it should cover everyone, the reason that just because it is in a play doesn't cut it with me, using that argument they could do anything on stage even kill someone because of "artistic integrity".
- Paul Urban, London, UK
