David Edgar on Moonfleece ban

In The Guardian, Writers' Guild President David Edgar argues that the decision by the Dormston Arts and Sports Centre, Dudley, to cancel a booking for Philip Ridley's play Moonfleece is a sign of a rising tide of censorship.

If they did read the play, it's baffling that the managers of the school and centre withdrew the booking. What almost certainly happened was they responded in panic to press reports about the play, and thus denied people in Dudley (where the BNP wins 10% of the vote) the chance to be armed with arguments against bigotry. And they provided yet another example of a new censoriousness that – in the guise of community protection, anti-discrimination, even health and safety – is stalking the land.