Governor Lauds Play Production (Press, 15 July 1981)

On 15 July 1981, Governor-General Sir David Beattie publicly praised the New Zealand play "Foreskin’s Lament," describing it as "brilliantly produced." The play, written by Greg McGee, a former All Black trialist, has garnered both acclaim and controversy. Lady Beattie attended the performance alongside her husband and echoed his sentiment, highlighting McGee's talent as a playwright. The play has drawn significant criticism from morals campaigner Patricia Bartlett, who denounced it after seeing the performance on Friday evening. Miss Bartlett expressed her disapproval of the play’s portrayal of "gratuitous male nudity, simulated sodomy, and non-stop verbal obscenities and profanities." She urged Sir David not to attend the performance, and upon learning of his visit, she declared her intent to write to the Queen to express her dissatisfaction. Bartlett stated that the Governor-General’s attendance diminished the dignity of his office, suggesting that such a representative should avoid productions laden with offensive language and disrespectful references to religious figures. In response to Miss Bartlett's comments, Circa Theatre’s secretary, Carolyn Henwood, noted it was peculiar that Bartlett waited until the Governor-General attended before voicing her complaints. She described the timing as opportunistic, suggesting that the play, which has sold over 8,000 tickets, addresses issues of declining moral standards, a message Bartlett seemingly overlooked due to her focus on the play's more provocative elements. Henwood indicated that if Bartlett had engaged more thoughtfully with the play, she might have grasped its underlying themes instead of being distracted by what she deemed inappropriate content. "Foreskin’s Lament" has been a box office success at Circa Theatre, with the entire season sold out prior to Bartlett’s public outcry, a scenario reminiscent of other popular productions by playwright Roger Hall. The ongoing controversy surrounding the play highlights the ongoing debate in New Zealand about freedom of expression in the arts versus concerns over societal morals.

The text on this page is created, in the most part, using Generative AI and so may contain errors or omissions. It is supplied to you without guarantee or warranty of correctness. If you find an error or would like to make a content suggestion please get in contact

The text on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand