Old Vic pulls play over director’s involvement

London’s Old Vic has decided not to stage a new production of Into The Woods, due to the involvement of co-director Terry Gilliam.

The theatre told The Stage its staff and freelancers had shown dissatisfaction at Gillam’s involvement since the production was announced in May

A number of public statements made by Gilliam on trans rights, the MeToo movement and race have made the Monty Python actor a controversial figure.

It is understood that the theatre’s management held a meeting with the play’s producers after younger staff members raised concerns over hosting Gillam’s productions, saying his comments contradict the values of the theatre.

Members of Old Vic 12, a group of young producers and directors, have since taken to Twitter to say the production should have been cancelled "a long time ago".

“Good. It should have been cancelled over a year ago. And the leadership at the Old Vic owe many of us an apology for the awful, awful way this was handled,” said Penny Babakhani.