Cutting of nude scene riles playwright

The play is a "cringe-comedy" about a man and a woman in their forties with destructive addictions.

The removal of a nude scene from a play performed at Silo Theatre has left the playwright peeved - but the Auckland theatre's leaders are standing firm.

Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography, by young Australian playwright Declan Greene, premiered at the theatre on Friday with a change to the ending meaning the two actors - Bronwyn Bradley and Mark Wright - were not on stage naked.

The play is a "cringe-comedy" about a man and a woman in their forties and with destructive addictions, who meet online in an attempt to fill a void of loneliness.
In a statement handed to theatregoers, Greene said the play's NZ director, Laurel Devenie, told him she would change the ending.

Greene said he was disappointed by the decision. "I would like to see my ending performed here, just as it was in Sydney and Perth. But after three days of negotiation with Silo Theatre I'm sorry to say I lost out."

He said Eight Gigabytes was a play about "the ugly bits of us. Shame, loneliness, self-hate".

"But at the climax of this play ... the characters stop hiding ... They remove every piece of their clothing until they stand before each other, and the audience, completely naked."

He said the scene allowed the characters to overcome "the brutal standards" of perfection that people were held to. "They reveal themselves in all their flawed, beautiful, fleshy, tender, vulnerability - finally holding nothing back.

"Except that in this production, these characters will hold something back. They will be wearing their underwear. Which means it isn't a moment of total honesty."

Greene said he did not want viewers' experience of the play to end in compromise, and the nudity at the end was a condition of the play's licence.

Read our Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography review here.

He acknowledged the "very fine, hard work of the talented actors and designers" who put the show together, and thanked the audience for coming.

"This is far from my ideal exchange with you, but nonetheless, I hope you enjoy the play."
In response, Silo Theatre artistic director Sophie Roberts and executive director Jessica Smith issued a statement saying they wholeheartedly backed the play's director, actors and design team.

"Our director Laurel has not deliberately set out to censor or alter the choices and intent of the playwright, but for various reasons we have been unable to deliver the playwright's stage direction for the final scene."

"After endeavouring to reach a solution for everyone involved, we are saddened to find ourselves in this position."

Devenie said she couldn't go into "the details of the conflict at this time ... I am really unhappy that there has been so much controversy about what is a fantastic play by a fantastic writer."

Greene's award-winning plays have been produced across Australia as well as in London and Washington DC.

In 1972, a court case over the legality of a nude scene in the musical Hair saw its producer acquitted of an obscenity charge. It was after this acquittal that complete nudity was allowed in New Zealand strip clubs.