Graham Linehan: Edinburgh comedy occasion declares new venue for cancelled gig
A comedy occasion involving Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan is about to go forward at a brand new venue – after the unique venue cancelled the present.
Leith Arches pulled the plug on the Comedy Unleashed’s occasion following complaints that the Dublin-born author, who has been an outspoken critic of transgender self-identification, was on the invoice.
The Edinburgh venue mentioned it was not made conscious of the line-up prematurely and that it believed the present was “not a good fit [for] our venue”.
However, Comedy Unleashed introduced on X, previously often known as Twitter, on Wednesday {that a} new venue had been discovered for Thursday’s gig.
The title of the venue was not revealed.
“We have found a venue for tomorrow’s gig! The show goes on! (Ticket holders will be emailed with the new address tomorrow afternoon),” the group mentioned within the submit.
Mr Linehan mentioned on Wednesday that he would consider taking legal action against Leith Arches until it apologised and U-turned over its determination to cancel the present – which was billed as an Edinburgh Fringe Event however doesn’t seem on the official line-up.
Leith Arches mentioned in an announcement to Sky News the present would have a “negative effect on future bookings” and was “not a good fit” for the venue.
A spokesperson mentioned: “We are a really small impartial enterprise.
Read extra:
SNP MP says she’s been ‘cancelled’ over gender views
Gender reform legal challenge set for next month
“We work very closely with the LGBT+ community – it is a considerable part of our revenue. We believe hosting this one-off event would have a negative effect on future bookings.
“The determination is just not influenced by on-line activists, however by our common neighborhood who use our venue on a each day, weekly and month-to-month foundation.
“We are not against freedom of speech. The show is not a good fit [for] our venue.”
The venue claimed in an earlier submit on Instagram it didn’t know Mr Linehan, who additionally wrote The IT Crowd and Black Books, had been booked to carry out beforehand.
The submit mentioned: “We would like to thank members of the public and our community for bringing to our attention a comedy act billed to perform at our venue this Thursday.
“We weren’t made conscious of the line-up of this present prematurely.
“We have made the decision to cancel this show, as we are an inclusive venue and this does not align with our overall values.”
Mr Linehan was banned from X, previously often known as Twitter, in 2020 for breaking its guidelines round “hateful conduct” with feedback about trans folks, however his account was reinstated after Elon Musk took over.
He mentioned: “The most important view I have is that it is a crime against humanity to tell children that they may have been born in the wrong body.”
He additionally believes girls deserve “fair sport” and mentioned Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and tennis legend Martina Navratilova have been “abused” for his or her views on trans athletes.