Vanessa Redgrave Calls Cancellation of Rachel Corrie Play an “Act of Catastrophic Cowardic

Rachel Corrie was 23 years old when she was crushed by the bulldozer. The play, entitled “My Name is Rachel Corrie”, is based on her writings before her death. James Nicola, artistic director of the New York Theater Workshop, said "In our pre-production planning and our talking around and listening in our communities in New York, what we heard was that after Ariel Sharon’s illness and the election of Hamas, we had a very edgy situation. We found that our plan to present a work of art would be seen as us taking a stand in a political conflict, that we didn’t want to take."

Last night we spoke with Oscar award-winning actress and activist, Vanessa Redgrave.

Vanessa is one of the most famous of the legendary Redgrave acting dynasty. She started her acting career opposite her father, Sir Michael Redgrave. Her children are Natasha Richardson and Jolie Richardson. Her son-in-law is Liam Neeson and heer brother is the equally outspoken Corin Redgrave. Her sister is actor Lynne Redgrave.

During her acting career that spanned some 47 years she has served as UN goodwill ambassador and was a founding member of International Artists Against Racism.

In 1977, Redgrave funded and narrated a documentary film on the plight of the Palestinian people. That same year she starred in the film Julia, about a woman murdered by the Nazi regime in the years prior to World War II for her anti-Fascist activism. She won an Oscar for her performance. At the awards ceremony she spoke out on behalf of Palestinians, an Oscar acceptance speech that is referred to even to this day.

* Vanessa Redgrave, actor and activist.

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AMY GOODMAN: Last night, we visited the home of Oscar Award-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave and talked to her about the situation. During her acting career – it has spanned some 47 years -- she has served as U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, was a founding member of the International Artists Against Racism. Vanessa Redgrave is one of the most famous of the legendary Redgrave acting dynasty. She started her acting career opposite her father, Sir Michael Redgrave. Her children are Natasha Richardson and Jolie Richardson, her son-in-law Liam Neeson. Her brother, equally outspoken, is Corin Redgrave; her sister, actor Lynne Redgrave.

In 1997, Vanessa Redgrave funded and narrated a documentary based on the plight of the Palestinian people. That same year, she starred in the film Julia, about a woman murdered by the Nazi regime in the years prior to World War II for her anti-Fascist activism. Vanessa Redgrave won an Oscar for her performance. At the awards ceremony she spoke out on behalf of Palestinians, an Oscar acceptance speech that’s referred to even to this day. Well, last night we spoke with her at her home in London, just before she went into the hospital this morning for an operation, about the postponement of the play My Name Is Rachel Corrie.

VANESSA REDGRAVE: Well, I expect your viewers know that My Name Is Rachel Corrie was supposed to be opening in New York at the New York Theater Workshop in the week beginning March the 20th, and the Royal Court Theatre, who are the producers of My Name Is Rachel Corrie, were raising money for the 50,000 pounds that was their share of the production, and Alan Rickman had underwritten it, and suddenly, the New York Theater Workshop said something strange over the phone to the Royal Court, like maybe we’ve got to postpone this because we have consulted with a number of groups in New York City and we just don’t think – and then, I believe, from some other emails I’ve heard, the New York Theater Workshop referred to “contextualization,” which nobody what that means.

But the basic thing is that -- what's horrible about it is that, first of all, the text of this production – because it isn’t a play – was taken from Rachel's diaries. Rachel was a fantastic young American girl, who any country, anybody of any faith or race should be just so proud and thrilled that the human race can produce a girl like that. So the entire text was taken, edited from her diaries by Alan Rickman, who directed, and Megan Dodds, playing Rachel, and performed at the Royal Court Theatre to overwhelming critical wonder, let alone acclaim, and to all of us who went to the see the place once, twice or more.

And the theater was full of young people, full of young people who hadn't been to the Royal Court Theatre before, but had the idea that this was a play about a young girl and therefore it might have something to do with something they might care about. In fact, I was with Alan one night in the Royal Court bar downstairs, and there were loads of young girls, and, of course, they were all coming up to Alan and saying, “Well, you know, we didn't know what to expect, but this is really -- this is extraordinary, extraordinary,” because they hadn’t even, some of them, been in the theater before, any theater before, let alone the Royal Court Theatre before.

And Rachel, as anyone who’s seen this production, based entirely on her diaries until she was killed trying to defend these Palestinian lives, who were in this house, that an Israeli army bulldozer was heading for to demolish, and Rachel knew they were in the house, and so she just stood in front of the house like all the international volunteers have been doing and like some wonderful Israeli human rights people who I know have been doing, and the bulldozer kept coming, and her back was broken and she died.

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