Theatre production in Russia’s Novosibirsk cancelled over LGBT propaganda accusations

The Princess and the Ogre, a theatre show for children, has been scrapped in Russia’s Novosibirsk. The production directors have been accused of LGBTQ+ propaganda because a man with a moustache plays a female character, NGS reports.

The cancellation announcement came out online 20 minutes before the show was supposed to start. The message blamed it on “technical difficulties”.

According to an NGS source, the theatre building has no electricity, while the scene smells of burning. Other productions can also be cancelled over it.

Last week, director Polina Kardymon wrote a social media post, revealing that a complaint was filed against the show over “LGBT propaganda”. Kardymon’s Telegram channel is currently unavailable.

“We barely had the premier of the Princess and the Ogre (6+) and the production already was reported to the culture ministry after the first few shows (they say it even reached the governor). The finks were outraged that a man with a moustache played the princess. The culture ministry now is going to convene some ethics commission to see and check whether it is ‘LGBT propaganda’,” she wrote, suggesting that the ministry should look into the history of theatre, starting with Ancient Greece.