Insensitivity Alleged at Toronto’s Factory

A Toronto theater has cancelled a production of Chilean playwright Carmen Aguirre’s play, The Refugee Hotel, after Ms. Aguirre complained publicly that director Ken Gass was disorganized, culturally insensitive, and ethnocentric in his casting decisions. Gass insists that he made every effort to find minority actors for the production at the Factory Theatre, but was unable to cast more than one. Aguirre claims that Gass stated flatly that “I want superb actors for your play and actors of colour are not superb.”