Council reverses ban on Bible comedy

Spoof show WILL now go ahead this week

The council which banned a comedy show about the Bible because it was blasphemous have performed an unexpected last-minute U-turn.

Last week, the artistic board of Newtownabbey Borough Council on the outskirts of Belfast forced the Theatre On The Mill to drop two performances of The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged) scheduled for Wednesday and and Thursday this week.

However a full monthly council meeting tonight overruled that decision, and said they would ‘undertake a review of the Artistic Board’s governance arrangements’.

The move to cancel the show at the council-run venue was led by Democratic Unionist councillor Audrey Ball, who sits on the artistic board.

Before the ban, her husband Billy Ball had said: ‘For Christians, the Bible is the infallible word of God and it's not something to be made fun of. These people are treating something sacred with irreverence and disrespect.’

At the time, board chairman Billy Webb, said that the decision had been taken ‘with regret’, saying: ‘I am totally opposed to political censorship. If somebody does not agree with the contents of an event, then they do not have to attend

‘In no way do I agree with the cancellation of this play, but felt the action was necessary to protect the future of art in the Newtownabbey area from the opinions of the DUP.’

The decision sparked widespread media attention and condemnation, and in a statement tonight, Newtownabbey Borough Council said the monthly councul meeting ‘had decided to reinstate the show as previously scheduled’

The Reduced Shakespeare Company, who created the show, tweeted tonight: ‘Our performances are back on. Thrilled#Newtownabbey audiences can now see what all the fuss was about.’

Tickets for the reinstated show go on sale at 10am tomorrow (Tuesday).

The show has previously faced accessions of being blasphemous in the Republic of Ireland. Members of the Irish Supreme Court attended a performance in Dublin and concluded: ‘It's not blasphemous; it's just juvenile’ – a quote the troupe have used on their publicity ever since. They also claim a minister front he Church of Scotland once told them the show as ‘better than the book’.