Free speech reminds us the world is not a stage

Jerry Sadowitz has long pushed the boundaries of comedy. The cancellation of his Edinburgh fringe show reflects the difficulty of determining those edges 

- Brian Logan

If we don’t defend free speech, we live in tyranny. That was the tenor of the coverage following the attack on Salman Rushdie . So is it also our take when a comedian uses “extreme racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny” onstage? That’s the question surrounding the cancellation earlier this month of Jerry Sadowitz’s show on the Edinburgh fringe, and – spoiler alert – I, a mere comedy critic, am not certain of the answer.

What I do know is that this marks a watershed moment. Many of the earlier cancel culture v comedy furores have involved powerful acts (your Dave Chappelles, Ricky Gervaises and Jimmy Carrs ) not being cancelled at all. I’m being silenced, they yell, halfway through their Netflix specials.

It’s a different story this time. Here’s a show that was pulled hours before its performance, denying hundreds of ticket-holders their chance to see it, in response to complaints from audience and staff about Sadowitz calling the UK Tory leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak a P-word and flashing his penis at the front row . The decision has caused much debate, with some critics, among them famous comedians, citing the need to defend free speech and artistic creativity and others insisting that Sadowitz crossed a line, beyond which there’s no debate to be had.