Olivia Washington has defended her new play as it opens in London’s West End, but it has been surrounded by controversy.
The actress and daughter of Academy Award winner Denzel Washington stars in Slave Play, a three-act production that explores themes of sex, race, power and interracial relationships.
The play, a runaway success on Broadway, received a record 12 nominations at the 74th Annual Tony Awards in 2021 — the most for a non-musical play.
Despite criticism from both sides of the Atlantic, the show is now running for three months at the Noël Coward Theatre in London.
American critics have previously petitioned to have the show cancelled, while disgruntled British theatregoers accused producers of “infantilising” the audience by giving breathing advice.
Olivia Washington has defended her new play as it opens in London’s West End amid a shroud of controversy
The actress stars in Slave Play, a three-act production that focuses on interracial relationships
According to the Guardian, some claimed the play also ridiculed slavery and at least one audience member was left feeling “offended and traumatised”.
Washington, 33 – who plays Kaneisha – reflected on the divided reaction, telling the Sunday Times Style: ‘Isn’t that what art is supposed to do?
“It’s meant to challenge the norm. It’s not meant to make you comfortable per se.”
Washington, born and raised in Los Angeles, is the daughter of Denzel and Pauletta Washington and the twin sister of filmmaker Malcom Washington. She too has been vocal about any suggestion of nepotism.
“All I can really say is… I mean, I love my family,” she said of her upbringing. “And I understand that I’m blessed.”
The actress stars opposite Game Of Thrones’ Kit Harington, whose role as Kaneisha’s white partner Jim includes a graphic nudity scene. The scene is so explicit that theater managers have issued special stickers for all camera phones and are threatening legal action against anyone who tries to take a photo.
A source said The sun: ‘The sex scene Kit is in is quite shocking. There are lots of mirrors on stage so the audience can see his tackle from all angles.
‘The scene is over ten minutes long and bosses seem very concerned about it being recorded and leaked online – hence the stickers.
The play, a runaway success on Broadway, received a record 12 nominations at the 74th Annual Tony Awards in 2021 — the most for a non-musical play
Washington stars opposite Game Of Thrones’ Kit Harington, whose role as her white partner Jim includes a graphic nude scene
The actress is the daughter of Academy Award winner Denzel Washington (pictured together at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards)
‘Management wants to protect his reputation and has therefore threatened legal action if anyone is caught filming.’
The London production of the play, which opened on Broadway in 2019, caused a stir in February when it was announced that two performances would be reserved for black theatergoers who could watch the play unhindered by the “white gaze.”
Frank Furedi, emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent, said: ‘It is now normal to infantilise an adult audience by suggesting that they can be traumatised by exposure to a drama.’
And Professor Jeremy Black, author of A Brief History Of History, said: ‘Should we all be issuing trigger warnings? I’ve written histories of both slavery and the slave trade, and I wonder whether I should be wrapping them in warnings?’
A spokesman for Delfont Mackintosh, which owns the Noel Coward Theatre, said: ‘We have provided a link to the play’s website, where the producers have published information, support and resources for audiences who want to know more before they visit.’
The play’s producers declined to respond to requests for comment from The Mail on Sunday.
Slave Play is currently running a quarterly tour at London’s Noël Coward Theatre (pictured), but has been met with criticism from both sides of the Atlantic
Recently, the producers of the West End version of the play were accused of ‘infantilizing’ the audience by giving them advice on how to breathe
