Graham Linehan: New venue for Father Ted writer's cancelled gig

An alternate venue has been recovered for the Edinburgh basal up amusement cancelled for having Father Ted writer Graham Linehan connected its bill.

Leith Arches said it pulled the gig due to the fact that his views connected transgender issues did not "align with our wide values".

Mr Linehan has threatened ineligible enactment if the venue refuses to reverse its determination and apologise.

Gig organisers Comedy Unleashed did not uncover the sanction of the caller venue.

Ticket holders volition beryllium emailed the determination of the amusement time afternoon.

Co-founder Andy Shaw told BBC News they received respective offers aft appealing for alternate venues which "believe successful creator freedom".

"We person recovered what we deliberation is simply a truly due venue which volition go evident connected Thursday nighttime wherefore we deliberation it is peculiarly appropriate," helium added.

Mr Linehan was 1 of 5 stand-ups owed to look astatine Leith Arches connected Thursday nighttime nether the banner "edgy drama is back".

His quality was initially kept nether wraps with organisers lone describing him arsenic a "surprise celebrated cancelled comedian" connected the bill.

But the venue called disconnected the full amusement wrong hours of his individuality being confirmed connected Tuesday, saying they had not been made alert of the line-up successful advance.

"We person made the determination to cancel this amusement arsenic we are an inclusive venue and this does not align with our wide values," they said successful a post connected Instagram.

"We enactment precise intimately with the LGBT+ community, it is simply a sizeable portion of our revenue, we judge hosting this 1 disconnected amusement would person a antagonistic effect connected aboriginal bookings," they later added.

Mr Linehan told TalkTV connected Wednesday helium was considering ineligible enactment against the venue.

"I really suggest that the Leith Arches reverse its people due to the fact that they person said capable online for an casual triumph successful the courts," helium added.

"So if they apologise and enactment the gig on, I'll accidental nary much astir it but different I'm going to beryllium looking astatine ineligible action."

Mr Linehan is often astatine the centre of heated rows implicit trans issues and women's rights connected societal media, with opponents accusing him of transphobia.

In a BBC Newsnight interrogation successful 2020 helium compared the aesculapian attraction of transgender teenagers with puberty blockers with Nazi quality experimentation.

Following the cancellation of his Edinburgh show, helium told TalkTV: "The astir important presumption I person is that it is simply a transgression against humanity to archer children they whitethorn person been calved successful the incorrect body.

"I consciousness that the views that I and JK Rowling and [author] Helen Joyce person expressed connected this substance person been wholly vindicated due to the fact that Mermaids is present nether statutory probe and the Tavistock is closed".

"The different views I person is that [transgender comedian] Eddie Izzard tin formal however helium likes but if helium goes into a woman's toilet with my girl I volition propulsion him retired by his ankles," Mr Linehan added.

Earlier this twelvemonth different Edinburgh venue, The Stand, cancelled a scheduled Fringe festival quality by SNP MP Joanna Cherry aft unit said they were not comfy with her views connected transgender issues.

The In Conversation With... Joanna Cherry lawsuit took spot past week.

Ms Cherry, who is besides a lawyer, aboriginal posted that the Linehan lawsuit "looks similar a beauteous wide lawsuit of content discrimination" and deed retired astatine "more petulant cancellation".

However NUS Scotland president Ellie Gomersall, who has campaigned for a alteration to sex laws, backed Leith Arches.

She told BBC News: "This is astir the drama club's close to determine who it is they are platforming, who it is they are promoting, who it is they are allowing their abstraction to beryllium utilized by.

"I person to accidental that Graham Linehan and the mode helium expresses his views are beauteous deplorable and it's close that immoderate drama nine would cull idiosyncratic who expresses those sorts of views successful the mode Linehan does."

Mr Linehan co-created the Channel 4 drama Father Ted and aboriginal wrote Black Books and The IT Crowd.

In 2008 an occurrence of The IT assemblage was criticised implicit its transgender crippled line.

Mr Linehan was aboriginal progressive successful a fig of acrimonious societal media disputes with trans activists, and successful 2020 was permanently suspended from Twitter which claimed helium had breached rules connected "hateful content".

In an affectional BBC interrogation past year, the Dublin-born writer told Nolan Live helium had been unfairly targeted implicit his views, losing him enactment and contributing to the break-up of his marriage.