Puppet show ‘age-inappropriate’
Founder of Drizzles Marco du Plessis said the theatre had yet to ask for the script.
Zinzi the zebra, Freddy and Rajesh the gay married couple, Harry the hippo, King the lion, Bushy the bee, Mira the ant, Toni the tiger, Basil the bird and Nicky the snake and Fairy. Picture: Supplied
The Pierneef Theatre has rejected allegations of discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, genderqueer, queer, intersexed, agender, asexual and ally community (LGBTQIA+) after a puppet show was cancelled in order “to protect the children’s rights”.
Last week, theatre owner Jopie Pierneef cancelled the puppet show, Drizzles, which is in multiple languages and tells stories with LGBTQIA+ undertones, such as a gay zebra and a same-sex couple and was scheduled for yesterday and today.
Pierneef’s legal team, Louw Erasmus, said: “The Pierneef Theatre’s stance is … the target audience of between three and 10 years old shall not be exposed to any performances with a sexual element and/or undertone.
“Whether it may be heterosexual or homosexual, such content is viewed as age-inappropriate.”
Founder of Drizzles Marco du Plessis said the theatre had yet to ask for the script.
“We were censored and rejected based on their assumption alone, sounds familiar.”
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