By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
A seventh-grade field trip to see “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Paul Green Theatre on the campus of University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill was cut short on Friday when staff decided the play was “suggestive in nature.”
According to the UNC events website, PlayMakers billed the play, written by William Shakespeare, as a “lyrical comedy (that) weaves together a trio of stories set in a magical wood. During the course of a moonlit evening, four young lovers escape to the first on a fantastic adventure, changing them forever.”
Richmond County Schools officials have said there was no indication that the play was to be “suggestive in nature.”
Through Mallory Brown, public information officer with Richmond County Schools, Principal Julian Carter said that “the teachers in charge of the planning the trip spoke with theater personnel prior to the trip.” Those theater employees, Carter said, “assured them that the play was appropriate for middle school students.”
The teachers didn’t agree when, according to multiple students, one actress appeared to be nude — she wore a tight, skin-colored suit which simulated nudity — and when two men kissed.
“During the first act, teachers noticed a few themes that were suggestive in nature and, as a result, made the decision to leave after the first act,” Carter said, through Brown. “We believe these teachers acted in the best interest of their students and we are pleased with the way they handled it.”
The trip costs students, and their parents, $25 each. It’s unknown what portion of that fee went towards the play.
The students ended up eating lunch early and heading to the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, where they waited outside until it was time to go in.
Attempts to reach a play representative were not immediately successful.
