An April Fool's Day joke on the Wyvern Theatre's Facebook page drew an overwhelmingly negative response.
The Swindon Theatre, which has since apologised, was accused of everything from tone deafness to baiting homophobes with a fake announcement of a rainbow rebranding.
Accompanied by images showing the theatre in the colours associated with the Pride movement, the post - removed after about two hours - said: "Thanks to the generosity of a private benefactor, we’re delighted to announce the Wyvern Theatre will be rebranding to become UNiTY; Swindon’s latest art instillation [sic] – Representing Diversity, Inclusivity and Acceptance. Inspired by Swindon’s Rainbow Walk, Artist Faye Kinnett has been commissioned to create the new design.
"Laura James, Theatre director, said ‘We’re so excited to be playing such a central role in this new celebration of Swindon and its people. Rebranding the theatre to UNiTY is a crucial step in highlighting the fact the unity isn’t about “i”, but about “U”."
However, the majority of commenters responded with anger and disappointment.
One wrote: "If this was not a totally tone deaf joke, I would have thought this was absolutely awesome but I would have hoped you kept the Wyvern name in there somewhere. Instead I think it’s a bit horrible."
Another wrote: "Can we have some more imaginative, slightly less homophobe-baiting April Fool jokes pretty please?"
Other angry responses included:
"What a vile 'joke'. Diversity and accepting everyone whomever they choose to be or whatever preferences they feel appropriate for them isn't something to be made a joke out of in a [world] where people are still struggling to feel accepted."
"Who the hell thought this was even remotely appropriate? Inclusion, acceptance and diversity should never be used as a joke, April Fool's day or not."
Not all responses were negative, with one commenter writing: "Well done the Wyvern for having a sense of humour. Being able to laugh at life is something the woke folk need to learn instead of shouting about being offended all the time."
The theatre apologised in its next Facebook post, writing: This morning's post was put together by our LGBTQ+ staff and was enthusiastically supported by Swindon & Wiltshire Pride’s Community & Engagement Officer prior to posting. In no way was our post intended to cause offence, or play down the importance of diversity, inclusion, and acceptance. Quite the opposite.
"We have been working with Swindon & Wiltshire Pride and InSwindonBID on several projects including extending the Rainbow Walk across Theatre Square and a Platinum Jubilee celebration. Sadly, after several months of discussion, permission was not granted nor funding secured, but we will be continuing to pursue future projects and collaborations.
"We would absolutely LOVE to be able rebrand the theatre in this way and reinforce the importance of unity, diversity and inclusivity in everything we do.
"We whole-heartedly apologise for any offence that our post may have caused."
Accompanied by images showing the theatre in the colours associated with the Pride movement, the post - removed after about two hours - said: "Thanks to the generosity of a private benefactor, we’re delighted to announce the Wyvern Theatre will be rebranding to become UNiTY; Swindon’s latest art instillation [sic] – Representing Diversity, Inclusivity and Acceptance. Inspired by Swindon’s Rainbow Walk, Artist Faye Kinnett has been commissioned to create the new design.
"Laura James, Theatre director, said ‘We’re so excited to be playing such a central role in this new celebration of Swindon and its people. Rebranding the theatre to UNiTY is a crucial step in highlighting the fact the unity isn’t about “i”, but about “U”."
However, the majority of commenters responded with anger and disappointment.
One wrote: "If this was not a totally tone deaf joke, I would have thought this was absolutely awesome but I would have hoped you kept the Wyvern name in there somewhere. Instead I think it’s a bit horrible."
Another wrote: "Can we have some more imaginative, slightly less homophobe-baiting April Fool jokes pretty please?"
Other angry responses included:
"What a vile 'joke'. Diversity and accepting everyone whomever they choose to be or whatever preferences they feel appropriate for them isn't something to be made a joke out of in a [world] where people are still struggling to feel accepted."
"Who the hell thought this was even remotely appropriate? Inclusion, acceptance and diversity should never be used as a joke, April Fool's day or not."
Not all responses were negative, with one commenter writing: "Well done the Wyvern for having a sense of humour. Being able to laugh at life is something the woke folk need to learn instead of shouting about being offended all the time."
The theatre apologised in its next Facebook post, writing: This morning's post was put together by our LGBTQ+ staff and was enthusiastically supported by Swindon & Wiltshire Pride’s Community & Engagement Officer prior to posting. In no way was our post intended to cause offence, or play down the importance of diversity, inclusion, and acceptance. Quite the opposite.
"We have been working with Swindon & Wiltshire Pride and InSwindonBID on several projects including extending the Rainbow Walk across Theatre Square and a Platinum Jubilee celebration. Sadly, after several months of discussion, permission was not granted nor funding secured, but we will be continuing to pursue future projects and collaborations.
"We would absolutely LOVE to be able rebrand the theatre in this way and reinforce the importance of unity, diversity and inclusivity in everything we do.
"We whole-heartedly apologise for any offence that our post may have caused."
Your Comments
Be the first to comment on this article
Login or Register to post a comment on this article