Busting Out! banned

The management of Hobart’s Theatre Royal have banned the critically acclaimed, made-in-Melbourne theatre show, Busting Out! from performing at Hobart’s Theatre Royal, A Little Gossip reports.

Producer, Simon Bryce said: “Here we have a show that has been seen by over 200,000 people around the country in more than 40 theatres, that has been applauded by critics and audiences both here and overseas, and has raised more than $50,000 for breast cancer research and is now banned from showing in Hobart. Given the number of Tasmanians who have asked us to bring the show to Tasmania, this decision is dumbfounding.”

The Theatre Royal’s reasons for the ban indicate an objection to topless female nudity.

Writer of Busting Out!, Emma Powell, said: “Showing not telling is at the heart of what we do. Women live in a world surrounded by the surgically modified, silcone enhanced airbrushed ‘breast of perfection’. Busting Out!, with its real women and real breasts provides an empowering statement to women of all shapes, sizes and ages to feel good about themselves and their own body image.”

The Theatre Royal has not discussed their reasons for the ban but in a written statement to the producers said: “It is a decision based on whether or not this show aligns with our board’s artistic policy and the majority of the management team believe it is not a good alignment.”