Edinburgh 2002

Fringe

Diversity 2002
Diverse Attractions

Munira Mirza

With a title that sounds like an Arts Council policy document and a cast that resembles the United Colours of Benetton advertisements, this production is every New Labour multiculturalist's dream.

'Based on the real life experiences of ethnic minority communities living in Scotland', this piece is about as convincing as David Blunkett saying he's not a racist. The play is a series of episodes supposedly worked out with participants in a number of workshops held by the Whale Arts Agency, an organisation working to promote the arts in urban regeneration projects around east Scotland. These episodes are intended to reflect the reality (both happy and sad) of living in diverse Edinburgh.

At the beginning, Ivana, the wide eyed Polish immigrant exclaims on arrival to the UK, 'There are so many people from different countries, different skin colours - it's so beautiful'. With such banality the play continues. In one scene, white schoolgirls taunt a 'Paki' girl. But miraculously, they see her eating her lunch and try a 'samosa'. Lo and behold, their fears about how alien she is disintegrate when they try a bit of naan bread. The pig ignorant Scots then ask to learn how to make it. Through food, people really can learn to love each other.

What is irritating about this production is not the poor script, or the poor theatrics, or the poor performances (they are mostly kids after all), but the acclaim it has received. Amnesty has nominated it for a 'Freedom of Expression Award'. Mainstream newspapers (which we will not name) have given it five stars, calling it 'challenging'. The absolute collapse of judgement about what constitutes good art and what is just patronising, state-funded rubbish, is astounding.

Like the term 'diversity', this play is empty of meaning. Unfortunately, political correctness deems it a success.

Run over.