Polish protest against play deemed ‘pornographic’ leads to arrests of 12 people
Posted November 22, 2015 7:44 am.
Last Updated November 22, 2015 8:20 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WARSAW, Poland – Authorities have arrested 12 people who tried to block the entrance to a theatre performance in Poland they deemed pornographic.
The case highlights a cultural conflict between the country’s new conservative pro-Catholic government and secular society.
Scuffles broke out late Saturday in Wroclaw when members of a Catholic organization tried to stop theatre-goers from seeing “Death and the Maiden,” based on the work of Nobel Prize-winning writer Elfriede Jelinek.
The protesters objected to the presence on the stage of porn stars.
The government’s new culture minister, Piotr Glinski, had previously called for the show to be cancelled, noting the theatre is sponsored by the state budget.
Glinski’s opponents say his attempt to stop the performance amounts to a violation of freedom of speech.
