A Toronto private school has named a new head after a satirical one-man show offended families with what was called “gratuitous anti-Semitic” content.
Officials with private all-girls Bishop Strachan School confirmed to CTVNews.ca on Monday that they have “parted ways” with Judith Carlisle.
“Due to an inability to align on a strategy for moving forward for the future, and after a process of intensive engagement with the Board of Governors, The Bishop Strachan School and Head of School, Judith Carlisle, have parted ways,” the school said in an emailed statement to CTVNews.ca.
Carlisle joined BSS last year from Oxford High School, an independent day school for girls in England. A webpage for the BSS Head of School now names Angela Terpstra, who was principal of the Senior School for eleven years, as the new head.
On Oct. 17, a U.K. theatre company previously hired by Carlisle put on a “modern spin” of Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice.” It was presented as a one-man show that “materially exaggerated the anti-Semitic sentiment of the original,” according to a letter from parents sent last week to the school’s boards of governors and trustees and provided to CTVNews.ca. The play attempted to link the anti-Semitic messages to those used by Hitler during the Holocaust. In some scenes, students were expected to yell “Hallelujah” in response to phrases like “Burn their Synagogues,” “Take away their holy books,” and “Burn the Jews,” statements meant to mimic how Hitler brainwashed youth before the Holocaust.
“This intent may have been recognized by adults in the room,” the letter from parents said, “but we do not believe it was at all appropriate for highly impressionable teens to be exposed and then asked to participate by literally chanting in agreement with anti-Semitic content without the necessary preamble and debriefing.”
While school officials stated that the play was presented in the “spirit” of fostering “respectful debate” among its student body, they acknowledged in the statement to CTVNews.ca that it was an error to present this particular version of the play.
“Furthermore, the appropriate context was not provided to students to prepare them. For that, BSS is deeply sorry. An internal review is underway to establish guidelines and procedures to ensure this will not happen again,” the statement said. “BSS continues to be a united and strong community and is currently engaging in dialogue with our students, parents, faculty, staff and community organizations.”
In a statement released Friday, before her replacement, Carlisle stressed her commitment to the education of young women.
“I would never deliberately offend students entrusted to my care or their parents,” she said. “As an educator, I believe that it has never been more important for us as to equip our daughters to deal with uncomfortable social issues and learn how to participate effectively in the often contentious debates that surround them. If our shared goal is to nurture a generation of strong, independent female leaders, we must stick to these core principles even in the face of occasional controversy.”
