Hunchback of Notre Dame row after concert casts non-disabled actor as lead

[Floyd R. Turbo]

The production company behind a production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame has been criticised for casting a non-disabled performer as its lead.

Critics said the decision to cast an actor without a physical impairment in the title role of the West End show was an example of “ableism”.

They say Quasimodo is one of the most recognisable characters with a disability and his hunchback is “intrinsic to the story”.

The role will instead be shared by two actors, one of whom is deaf and will be providing a British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation of the performance.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/hunchback-notre-dame-row-concert-154653446.html

[True Dough]

1. I had to read the thread title twice

"Row" is such a British word that I don't see it frequently in North American media. Takes my brain a minute to adjust (as with most things).

[EYESORE 9001]

2. It took me 'alf a mo myself (half a moment)

[True Dough]

3. Are we slow, or what?

[EYESORE 9001]

6. It's the different pronunciation whut dunnit

So conditioned is the American speaker to seeing ‘row, row, row your boat’, the British ‘bow wow row’ looks a bit alien at first glance. Such a difference from prompting a hard vowel to a soft one.

[True Dough]

12. Agreed!

It's row, like "plow."

Not row, like "go."

[harumph]

4. Would any disability satisfy - or just a hunchback?

As I understand it, they're in short supply nowadays.

[Doodley]

10. To align with the description in the novel, they need an actor with a hunchback, blind in one eye and deafness.

[BannonsLiver]

5. GMAB

🙄

[Doodley]

7. They needed to find an actor with a hunchback who wasn't in so much pain he/she/they could stand on a stage for hours

each night.

[Baitball Blogger]

11. Exactly.

The reasoning is probably the same that is used for the BFOQ. Essentially, the necessity for the job is to be able to complete all the rigorous demands of playing the role for the run of the performance.

"The legal term is "bona fide occupational qualification" (BFOQ), which allows employers to discriminate based on sex, religion, or national origin if it is necessary for the job. This defense is not applicable for race or color discrimination."

[Baitball Blogger]

8. Well, question. What happens when they come up with a Cyrano de Bergerac play?

[Doodley]

9. They get an actor with a nose so long that it can be classified as a disability. As Equity said there must be a

“fair and accessible” audition process, which is “paired with targeted outreach to those artists who have lived experience of the specific disability.”

[Disaffected]

13. Good grief,

thought at first it was an Onion piece.