The Vagina Monologues is cancelled in capital
Beijing cultural authorities have cancelled a Valentine's Day production of the controversial Eve Ensler play The Vagina Monologues a week after it was banned in Shanghai.
A spokesman for the Beijing Culture Bureau said authorities intervened because the host venue, the Today Art Gallery, failed to apply for permission to stage the play.
Ensler's taboo-breaking play celebrates female sexuality and highlights violence against women. The American play has achieved cult status since its first performance in 1996 and is staged around the globe by feminists on Valentine's Day, or V-Day. Proceeds go to charities working to stop violence against women.
The ban comes at a sensitive time, with Shanghai authorities this week labelling the play 'problematical'. Sources said authorities felt it 'did not suit national conditions'.
Beijing cultural affairs spokesman Wang Mingzhi said the Today Art Gallery 'didn't go through the right procedures'. Asked if the cancellation had anything to do with Shanghai's ban, he said: 'I don't know what happened in Shanghai and I don't care. Beijing is Beijing, Shanghai is Shanghai.'
Earlier, Today Art Gallery executive director Shang Fang said the play was withdrawn for 'internal reasons', but declined to elaborate.
A source in the theatre world closely connected to the planned Beijing production said the play's provocative content lay behind the decision to withdraw it.
'Of course what happened in Shanghai had something to do with it,' he said.
Since 1997, the V-Day movement has raised more than HK$110 million for projects to help battered women, including more than $55 million in 2002 alone, according to its website.
