Riverdance Protest 18/8/2011 – 6.30pm AND 10 Years of The “War on Terror” Event 10/9/2011

Riverdance is scheduled to perform a series of shows in Israel in September (see here). To protest this the IPSC are organising another demo outside Riverdance’s ongoing run at the Gaiety Theatre (South King St, off Grafton St – map here) at 6.30pm on Thursday 18th August. This will be the final action in our series of ongoing protests before Riverdance heads to perform for Israeli Apartheid – so please make the effort to come along!

The protest forms part of the international Cultural Boycott of Israel campaign which has seen many stars such as Roger Waters, Elvis Costello, Carlos Santana, Christy Moore and Damien Dempsey refuse to perform in Israel.  The Palestinian call for a cultural boycott of Israel – until it ends the occupation of Palestine and abides fully by its obligations under international law – has also been endorsed by over 200 Irish performing and creative artists as well as countless others internationally.

Speaking about the protest, composer and IPSC Cultural Boycott Officer Dr. Raymond Deane said: “Riverdance is often seen as a cultural ambassador for Ireland, a role that entails great responsibility. The Irish people have repeatedly shown that they passionately support Palestinian rights. By touring Israel next September in defiance of the Palestinian call for a cultural boycott of Apartheid Israel, Riverdance is simultaneously betraying the Palestinians and misrepresenting the Irish people.”

Irish artist Robert Ballagh, who designed the sets for Riverdance, wrote an open letter to Riverdance’s producers earlier this year in which he stated: “I am disappointed to learn of the decision to perform the show in Israel at this time. Because I have signed up to support the cultural boycott of Israel, I will not be travelling there with Riverdance, and I have decided to donate any royalties due to me for performances in Israel to the fund for the Irish Ship To Gaza.”