Actor Aleh Sidorchyk charged over ‘indecent act’ on flight is dropped from Australian show

Actor Aleh Sidorchyk was charged with an indecent act a Malaysian Airlines plane to Adelaide. Photo / Belarusian Free Theatre, Handout

An international actor who was due to perform in Australia has been axed from the production after he was charged with an indecent act on a plane.

Aleh Sidorchyk had been due to perform at the Adelaide Festival this month.

The actor is from Belarus and performs as part of the Belarus Free Theatre. The company, which performs works focusing on freedom and democracy, has been banned in Belarus by the dictatorship of Alexander Lukashenko.

It is currently based in exile in London.

Sidorchyk, 61, was a key cast member of the company’s acclaimed dystopian production Dogs of Europe.

However, on Sunday an alleged incident occurred on a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Adelaide.

He was charged with committing an act of indecency while on board.

The actor appeared in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday from the city watchhouse via video link.

The alleged indecent act occurred on a Malaysian Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. Photo / Samual T Unsplash

He was ordered to surrender his passport, report to Hindley Street Police station and remain at his hotel in the CBD, reported The Advertiser. He is not allowed to leave the state.

Adelaide Festival chief executive Kath Mainland said Sidorchyk would now not appear on the Adelaide stage.

“Aleh Sidorchyk will no longer be appearing in Dogs of Europe and will be replaced by Ilya Yasinski and Igor Shugaleev,” Ms Mainland said in a statement.

“The production will open on Thursday night and continue its run until Monday 6 March, as planned.”

Sidorchyk had been due to leave Australia on March 7. It’s expected the matter will be dealt with in court prior to that ahead of his flight out of the country.

The Belarus free theatre is a troupe of 20 actors who were exiled from their home country for their political stance.

The group claims to be the “only theatre in Europe banned by its government on political grounds,” for voicing dissent against the country’s leader Alexander Lukashenko.

The show due to be performed in Adelaide, Dogs of Europe, is based on the novel of Alhierd Bacharevic which the troupe says offers “a powerful warning of the corrupting influences of dictatorship”.

- News.com.au with additional staff reporting