A theatre production based on a Charles Dickens story has come under fire in Victoria, B.C., for using white actors in brown makeup to portray people of South Asian descent.
Critics say the Langham Court Theatre performance of 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' is a form of brownface, which involves white actors using makeup to portray racist stereotypes on stage.
South Asian actress Anita Majumdar compared the practice to blackface, an outdated and racist tradition of whites wearing black makeup to mock people of African descent.
"Really, blackface, brownface is a reference to slavery, and it's a reference to something that we no longer hold true or acceptable in this day and age," Majumdar told CTV Vancouver Island on Friday.
Majumdar says she is disturbed by the practice of brownface in general, and has not seen the Victoria performance for herself.
Langham Court Theatre director Keith Digby says people are missing the mark in criticizing his Dickens play.
"I know what all the fuss is about, but it's about the wrong thing," Digby said. "The criticism has come from people who haven't seen it, but who have heard only one thing: there's an actor wearing makeup."
Digby emphasized that in the world of the play, the two characters are meant to be white people portraying South Asian people. He says the makeup is representative of the era in which the story was written.
The characters at the middle of the controversy are Neville and Helena Landless, orphan twins from Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) who are sent to England after their stepfather's death.
The characters have been interpreted differently over the years. For instance, a 2012 BBC television production of the 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' used South Asian actors in the roles, while a Broadway production from the same year used Caucasian actors in makeup.
Professor David Black of Royal Roads University says he's seen the Langham Court Theatre performance, and he felt the makeup added nothing to the experience.
"The issue here is reducing a character, and hence a people, to very strongly racialized stereotypical features," he said.
The Victoria performance runs until March 21.
With files from CTV Vancouver Island
