The producers of West End show Slave Play have been slammed by Michael Loftus, after defending their decision to host "black-only audiences" for some of their performances.
The play, written by Jeremy O Harris, has received 12 Tony nominations in the US and tells the story of three interracial couples role-playing while on a plantation.
Game of Thrones actor Kit Harington will star in the production which will run at The Noël Coward Theatre in London’s West End from 29 June to 21 September.
The show has received widespread criticism after announcing "Black Out nights" for some performances, welcoming audiences of only black theatre-goers "free from the white gaze".
Slave Play will be hosting two "Black Outs" for black-only audiences
Getty / GBN America
Speaking to BBC's World at One, writer of Slave Play Jeremy O Harris said: "People have to be radically invited to a space to know that they belong there. In most places in the West, poor people and black people have been told they do not belong inside a theatre.
"No one is saying by inviting black audiences here you are uninvited. The idea of a Black Out night is to say this is a night where we are specifically inviting black people to fill up this space and feel safe."
Reacting to the "Black Out" nights, GBN America host Mark Dolan said it was "divisive and dangerous", and mocked their decision to tackle "racism with racism".
Joining Mark on GBN America, writer, commentator and stand-up comedian Michael Loftus said the idea was "hilarious" and questioned what the "white gaze" even means.
Slave Play writer Jeremy O'Harris said 'black people have been told they do not belong inside in a theatre'
Getty
Loftus said: "I think it means people who view the world through the lens of a white person. It's horribly racist. It's hilarious. It's so absurd."
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Loftus fumed: "It is a giant step backwards in terms of race relations and everybody should be ashamed."
Mark agreed with Loftus and questioned how successful the shows were in New York, where "Black Outs" were first trialled.
Loftus revealed: "We don't have a marketing budget because we're not selling enough tickets. So what you do is you do something so ridiculous and absurd, people go on TV and they make fun of you and they talk about it, and you hope to move some tickets that way.
"I liked your idea - lower the prices, make it more acceptable. It's a nightmare. It'll only get worse. We need to stamp out this crazy insanity before it gets started."
Michael Loftus urged writers to 'write more shows' to get more people into the theatres
GBN America
Mark then argued that the decision could be due to theatre shows and musicals being "dominated by middle-class white audiences" both in America and the UK.
When asked by Mark if he believes "more should be done" to encourage ethnic people to go to the theatre, Loftus said: "Write more shows! When you write a great show that entertains people, people cannot keep that a secret.
"There's a ton of really awesome multicultural shows. And what happens is sometimes you get a guy, a true visionary like Tyler Perry, who can't get his show on to Broadway. He can't get it to Broadway. So he just traveled to America with it. And now look at him.
"He's like one of the captains of the Hollywood industry. He's got studios. So listen, write better shows, write more entertaining shows."