Creative Scotland knew a controversial theatre project would include “non-simulated sex” and “genital contact” nine months before handing over £100,000 in funding.
Information obtained via Freedom of Information (FOI) requests revealed that the public body knew about the “hardcore” content in the show.
Creative Scotland axed support for the Rein project in March, claiming they had not realised that real sex would be a part of the event. However, the application, which was made in March 2023, outlined plans for “genital contact” and a “sex party”.
Director Leonie Rae Gasson was given over £100,000 to develop the project - £23,219 was paid for “research and development”, with a further £84,555 distributed from the January round of Creative Scotland's National Lottery Open Fund.
Creative Scotland knew a theatre project would include real-life sex before handing over £100,000 in funding
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The public body, which is the equivalent to the Arts Council in England, vowed to get back the money and said the project was “considerably more explicit in its execution” than Rein made out in its application.
On the project’s website, it described itself as a 45-minute art installation that paid its performers - who have to be over 18 - £270 per day to take part in “non-simulated” sex, including “hardcore” acts.
Last month, the quango’s chief executive Iain Munro wrote to Holyrood’s culture committee stating only in March did it become clear that the show would include real sex. He also accused Gasson of a “breach of the conditions of funding award”.
However, in another meeting also held in April, Gasson said that she was “confused by the idea that it wasn’t clear”.
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Munro said in an update last month that £76,196 had been recovered from Gasson. He said that Creative Scotland did not intend to claim back the other 10 per cent of the £84,555 lottery funded award - which had mainly been paid to subcontracted freelancers.
The arts body also said it did not intend to claim back the £23,219 paid for “research and development”.
A Creative Scotland spokesman said: “We were always aware the project would be explicit and creatively challenging, but it was not clear until the project issued the call-out for participants on its website that the project was moving from performance to unsimulated sex.
“It was at this point that Creative Scotland felt that there had been a breach of contract, and this breach of contract was not disputed by the applicant.”
Scottish Tory deputy leader Meghan Gallacher said Creative Scotland has some 'serious explaining to do'
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A statement on Gasson’s website said the Rein artists and performers did not want to be contacted by the media, but disputed that the performance was pornography as “it was not intended as a way to elicit sexual arousal as the outcome”.
Scottish Tory deputy leader Meghan Gallacher said Creative Scotland has some “serious explaining to do”.
She added: “It appears they have misled the public over this scandal, in an attempt to cover their appalling misjudgement in awarding funding to this project.
“The attempted cover-up is more inexcusable than the original poor decision-making. As a publicly-funded body, Creative Scotland have a duty not just to spend taxpayers' cash wisely, but also to be fully transparent on how they do so.
“Ultimately, SNP culture secretary Angus Robertson is answerable for this quango - and the public deserve answers on this growing scandal.”
