We thought we were welcome as Jews performing at the Fringe. Then we were cancelled

On July 18 we were finalising the last details for this year’s trip. Accommodation paid for, train tickets booked, street marketing purchased in prime positions, flyers designed and ordered. We were especially looking forward to being back in Whistlebinkies as this venue had been proactively supportive of Jewish artists, and over the past couple of years that had become a priceless commodity.

And then the phone rang, and as has been widely reported, the CEO of the Free Fringe announced that our shows had been pulled by Whistlebinkies, the venue that had described us last year as “our Jews” who they would keep safe.

He informed us that the bar staff said that the extra security set-up for hosting Jewish performers (a passing external eye from bobbies on the beat and some contact info for the CST) made them feel at risk of danger, there’d been lots of Israel/Palestine graffiti in the past that they’d had to paint over, and the astonishing (almost immediately retracted) false claim that one of the shows had held a vigil for an IDF soldier. There had been no issues reported to us last year, we had parted with cries of “See you next summer!”

Surely, if they’d been concerned about staff safety – or indeed our own – they could have asked us for more security or provided it themselves. And when it comes to the graffiti, as a regular Jew-O-Rama guest said: “Paint? I’m not sure I even smelled Jif!” It was such a supportive comment that we didn’t remind him that it’s been called Cif for ages now.

We tried to resolve things quietly but it quickly became apparent that there would be no hiding this story. The shows were well-known and established at that venue. It’s unheard of for shows to move venues within days before the launch. And, of course, there would have been the glaring connection between the titles of Ultimate Jewish Mother and Jew-O-Rama.

Jewish colleagues and friends in the entertainment industry helped us to navigate this strange new world we found ourselves in, full of press interviews, statements, legal advice and PR. The Free Fringe and the Fringe Society attempted to find solutions but with less than two weeks to go before the launch there were initially no options that made sense. When the story broke we had no idea what to expect from our peers, however their reaction was almost entirely supportive, with some surprising people getting in touch privately or publicly to denounce our treatment, buoying our spirits.

Then almost exactly a week after that shocking phone call, Philip was told that his solo show at neighbouring Banshee Labyrinth had now been cancelled by that venue, this time saying that his online presence contradicted their ethos. They cited posts in which he’d mentioned the hostages and women’s groups who weren’t supporting women harmed on October 7, showing he’d attended the 100 days memorial at Trafalgar Square, and a joke about the recent flotilla. (What? A comedian? Joke?) There was nothing controversial here, but they inferred meaning. This new development provoked another layer of press interest, and we again received wave after wave of love and support, which has helped beyond measure as we fight to resolve our situation. (The JC has asked both venues for comments, neither have responded).

We don’t have the option of throwing in the towel and staying in London, sobbing into last year’s copy of the Fringe brochure. Philip still has his hit children’s show School’s Out Comedy Club at Le Monde and Rachel is Lead Mentor for the Funny Women Glitter Project. We’re still searching for venues, dealing with correspondence. The cancellation of Jew-O-Rama also entails the cancelling of performers for more than 80 spots. And we’ll have to fund venue hire and rebranding all of our marketing with no planned budget.

But also, we feel a kind of grief. The loss of a safe space is hard to take right now. The two venues are on a thoroughfare and we’re no longer comfortable taking that route. We wonder about the speed with which we were replaced, as opposed to leaving the stage empty during those two hours daily, to feel the impact of their decision. That hurts. It’s concerning that the organisation seems to want to appease the venue for the sake of future relationships. Why do that when next time you programme those spaces, you’ll need to remind yourself that Jewish shows are unwelcome?

And we are desperately sad that the bonds we thought we had with the staff teams were built on shifting sand. Our Fringe will be tainted by this experience this year, and probably for ever. There is no more welcoming event on Earth. Until it suddenly isn’t.