Protestors Stop Jerry’s Charity Donation???

It may have closed at the West End’s Cambridge Theatre this past Saturday (See News, 12 Jan 2005), but Jerry Springer - The Opera still has plenty of power to provoke controversy. Not content with protesting against the BBC for its unedited TV broadcast last month (See News, 5 Jan 2005), religious protesters, who claim that the musical is blasphemous, have this week applied pressure on a charity for which Jerry attempted to raise funds. Last Friday, producers, working in association with the Evening Standard, slipped in an extra matinee performance in which all tickets were priced £20, with £10 from each sale going to Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres (See The Goss, 15 Feb 2005). In response, Christian Voice – the same group that spearheaded the campaign to inundate the BBC with an unprecedented 45,000 complaints – warned Maggie’s that, if it accepted the resulting £3,000 donation, it would face religious boycotts of its charitable work aiding people with terminal cancer. A Maggie’s spokesperson told the press: “As a result of contact from Christian Voice, Maggie's has taken the decision not to accept the proceeds from a special performance of Jerry Springer - The Opera.” What a shame.

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