JK Rowling-inspired play criticising author’s transgender views forced to move after backlash

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson – the franchise’s three main characters – have all publicly criticised Rowling’s views on the subject in real life.

The show, originally scheduled to be staged at St Stephen’s Theatre, has now been moved to the Assembly Rooms, one of the ‘Big Four’ Fringe promoters.

The venue’s owner, Peter Schaufuss, decided to cancel the show following the “unexpected” reaction from the press and the public.

Joshua Kaplan, the play’s American screenwriter, said the new venue would give the play “greater freedom, resources and a safer space.”

Kaplan said he thinks the name of the play, which is an acronym for “trans-exclusionary radical feminism,” was what caused Schaufuss the biggest problem.

“The faithful of Saint-Étienne were not prepared and had not taken into account all the aspects of this situation,” he said.

Barry Church-Woods, Terf’s producer, added: “They never gave us a reason why they felt they couldn’t do our play.”

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Although Saint Stephens offered the production team some compromises to keep the show at its original location, Kaplan and Church-Woods said they had no choice but to move, the Times reported.

Derek Douglas of Hill Street Theatre Venues, which held the contract between St Stephens and Terf, said “no one is trying to censor anyone” but the venue needed to feel legally safe to continue with the performances.

Dani Rae, executive director of the Assembly Festival, the new venue where the play will be performed, said she found the reaction “understandable.”

She said: “It’s extremely topical, that’s what makes the Fringe great.

“The Fringe has always been a free-to-attend festival and there is no better place to explore important and balanced topics of discussion like this.”

The Terf production team initially approached Assembly Rooms in January, who declined the offer due to concerns about protests.

The team later dropped the “C***” from the title after public backlash, with Church-Woods saying: “It was definitely a misstep on our part.”

Among other problems the play faced was the difficulty in finding the cast. It is known that 90 actresses did not respond after receiving the script.

Kaplan concludes: “Watch the play. Draw your own conclusions. Challenge yourself, challenge me, challenge JK Rowling, but do it based on the play.”

Rowling is an advocate for women’s spaces and biological women’s rights which led to a boycott of his books.

Some activists have already called the writer a “terf” – which is often seen as an insult by gender-critical people who believe you can’t change your sex.