Martin McDonagh, an Oscar winner, said that theaters have been rejecting his plays because he won’t agree to changes in his language. The theaters want the language to be changed to avoid online backlash.
Speaking to the BBC, McDonagh said that although he is an established writer, “They wanted to make some words more palatable to them or what they think their audience is.”
He described the situation as a “major problem” and said that theaters were becoming “a dangerous place” for writers.
His 2022 film The Banshees of Inisherin was nominated for nine Oscars. His 2008 short film Six Shooter won an Oscar. His 2003 play Pillowman will be revived in June at the West End stage in London.
McDonagh said the state-sponsored censorship of writers is getting worse.
“It seems like governments are becoming increasingly more scared of dissenting voices,” he said, adding that it is “a very frightening time.”
He advised new writers to “get off social media,” stop going online and “go out and outrage.”
Authors Roald Dahl and Agatha Christie have recently had their work revised to remove potentially offensive phrases.
