High school under fire for same sex kiss
A high school has come under fire for it’s same sex kiss during a Shakespeare rendition of Romeo and Juliet.
The “SHEkspeare” play included two female leads playing the roles of Romeo and Juliet at Campbelltown Performing Arts High in Sydney’s south west.
The performance included a passionate kiss between the female Romeo and Juliet which sparked a barrage of complaints from parents to NSW MP Mark Latham.
Mr Latham raised the issue in parliament where he criticised the fact that parents were not informed of the kiss beforehand.
“There’s [a] passionate kissing scene going on stage,” he began, QNews reported.
“Some of the boys yelled out, others were distressed, some of the girls were upset.
“The parents are very upset with the note that went out where there was no mention of this. The kids came home saying there were two women kissing.”
“It’s inappropriate, this shouldn’t happen in front of 13 and 14-year-olds unless you have parental permission, some of these kids haven’t even hit adolescence.”
“There are Christian, Hindu, Muslim and socially conservative parents in the Campbelltown community who have a different view and were not given the option to opt-out.”
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell agreed with Mr Latham that the kiss was “controversial” but fit in with the script.
“The exchange of affection by actors during the play was considered appropriate to the script,” she said.
“[Permission was sought and] consistent with the Department of Education’s Controversial Issues in Schools policy.”
Adam O’Brien, Artistic Director of The Dire Theatre Company said it should be expected that the two characters would appear affectionate in the play.
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