TWO female performers have spoken out as their show posters have been censored in the lead up to the Fringe performances.
Australian artist Leah Shelton as well as Norwegian writer and performer, Catherine Frost, have expressed anger at the decision to censor their Edinburgh Fringe posters.
Shelton found the poster for her upcoming EdFringe show Batshit at the Traverse censored on account of the show’s title.
The show tells the story of her grandmother who was incarcerated into a hospital in Australia in the 1960’s and given treatment and medication against her will.
Shelton said: “For me, as an activist and performance artist whose very work is about subverting the objectification of the female body, this has a real impact on my livelihood.
“And the censorship game continues. My new solo show Batshit, due to debut at Edinburgh Fringe this summer, also needs to have a big ‘censored’ sign slapped over the offensive word in public spaces.
“This came as a shock to me – I wasn’t quite expecting the overlords of censorship to reach Edinburgh Fringe.
“I’ve been around – I know the vibe, having donned the false lashes and little else for Fringe shows like La Clique and Little Death Club – these are the places we can be free.
“Precious spaces for artists to be loud, proud and unapologetic.
“Batshit is very much about female agency, inspired by the story of my Grandmother Gwen, who was locked up in a mental institution and given a cocktail of drugs and ECT, basically for wanting to leave her husband.
“But she was also a fierce, opinionated and inspiring woman who did things her way.
“It’s ironic that this show, which is about the literal gagging of women within the mental health system, is now having its title censored in public spaces”
Frost found herself having to censor her own body and cover an image of her nipple whilst designing her official Festival poster
Frost’s one-woman show Good Luck, Catherine Frost! at the Assembly George Square Studios explores the challenges of childbirth.
Frost said: “It is difficult to see any other reason for censoring a woman’s breast, other than seeing the woman’s breast exclusively in a sexual context.
“This is of course deeply problematic and misogynistic. My breasts have fed my child, and during that period they were out and about all the time.
“I can’t think of people being turned on by a breastfeeding woman.
“I have to kindly ask society to let me decide how I express myself. I wish I wouldn’t have to read ‘adult content’ in places where there are none, solely based on my gender.
“On my poster my nipple is about breastfeeding, get a grip.”
Batshit will be on at the Traverse from August 1 to 25. Good luck Catherine Frost! will be on at Assembly George Square Studios July 31 to August 25.
