'Don't criticise the sponsors,' comics told

Comedians attending a major arts festival next year have been told they mustn’t say anything to offend the sponsors, who include a controversial fossil fuel giant.

Fringe World in Perth, Australia, is facing a backlash from performers over a clause in their contracts which commits them to doing nothing to ‘prejudice any of Fringe World’s sponsorship arrangements’.

And they have been told if they are not happy to accept those terms, they shouldn’t be applying to be in the programme.

Stand-up Tom Ballard, pictured, who has often spoken about climate change in his act, told Guardian Australia the clause was  ‘a pretty obvious contravention of a commitment to freedom of expression’, adding: ‘I think we’re in really dicey territory.’

Promoter Chris Dodd said the clause raised concerns that acts might be blacklisted or even sued if they flouted the clause. He told  WA Today: ‘For a massive company like Woodside to try to gag artists is very Big Brother, it’s an abuse of position and power ‘

Other backers of the festival include Channel 7, whose presenter Basil Zempilas is the mayor of Perth, and the city council itself – potentially silencing any political criticism.

The festival’s chief executive Sharon Burgess, said: ‘We respect the voices that artists have, in fact we encourage them’ but sge added: ‘We just ask people, that if you hate what we do, well, [participation] is entirely optional.’

The move comes 12 months after  250 artists and climate activists called on the festival to dump Woodside as a sponsor.

The oil and gas giant  insisted today they had nothing to do with the controversial clause, saying: ‘It’s entirely up to Fringe how they manage their content, and we provide sponsorship. That’s the end of it.’

Fringe World is due to run for a month from January 15.

Published: 18 Dec 2020