Producers of a play scheduled to be staged by the gay and lesbian student’s society at NUI Galway have promised ticket refunds after the Disney company threatened legal action against them.NUI Galway’s GigSoc were threatened with legal action by Disney when it was discovered the society were to stage an adaptation of the Whoopi Goldberg film, ‘Sister Act’, whihch was produced by the entertainment corporation.
With only two days to go before opening night, the NUI Galway students were forced to pull the production.
In a letter sent via a Dublin-based solicitor, Disney said the performance would breach its intellectual property rights and threatened legal proceedings if the play went ahead.
The play's producer, Jeff Rockett, told the Irish Times that cast members were "completely devastated" by the turn of events.
"Six months of hard work, all for nothing. Cast and crew had given up their weekends and any spare time to rehearse and promote the play," he said. "They are simply in disbelief that something they have poured their hearts and souls into has been destroyed by an organisation that has brought joy to many of them in their younger years.
"We are dumbfounded by Disney's stance towards what is a charitable, non-profit-making society, aimed at promoting safety and integration for the student LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community. We were just having fun.
Tickets to GigSoc's cancelled performances will be refunded through Galway's Town Hall Theatre.
(With kind thanks to GCN.ie for the story)
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