Russian ballet and opera shows still scheduled to go ahead at Doncaster's Cast

Russian ballet and opera shows are still set to go ahead at Doncaster’s Cast theatre, organisers have said.
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Venues up and down the country have pulled shows featuring Russian performers following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week, as countries and organisations around the globe boycott president Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Madama Butterfly, presented by the Russian State Opera is due to take place at the venue in Sir Nigel Gresley Square on March 30, while Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, both performed by the Russian National Ballet are due to be staged on October 27 and 28.

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At the moment, all three shows are still set to go ahead – but a spokesman for Cast said the venue was awaiting guidance from UK Theatres.

Russian shows are still set to go ahead at Doncaster's Cast.Russian shows are still set to go ahead at Doncaster's Cast.
Russian shows are still set to go ahead at Doncaster's Cast.

Amande Concerts, the promoters of all three shows have issued a statement regarding the performances.

A spokesman said: “In light with the current tragic situation in Ukraine, we would like to clear a few unknown facts and write our position.

“It goes without saying that we strongly condemn the violence in Ukraine.

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"Arts and politics are not connected, these are innocent people who are being affected. They cannot alter any political situation; however, they do feel the effect of them.

“The ballet production is brought to you by an English company, Amande Concerts Ltd, registered in the UK, who have worked with the best of the best performing arts organisations from Eastern Europe for over twenty years.

"Russian National Ballet" is a brand name established by a UK company, Amande Concerts.

"This brand acts as an umbrella for the presentation of artists of many different nationalities that have graduated from artistic institutions in Russia and countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union.

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"We understand the potential for confusion this name causes, but there is no link between Amande Concerts to the Russian 'state' as a political entity.

The "Russian National Ballet" is a UK registered trademark that has been used in the same context as, for example, English National Ballet.

"The brand name only relates to the geographical location of the performing theatres.

"We can confirm that Amande Concerts does not receive any public or commercial money from Russian organisations.

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"Amande Concerts has been self-sufficient without any sponsoring support from ant state or organisation, including Great Britain.

“Please also note that Amande Concerts brings ballet and opera productions to the UK from Eastern Europe, we have in our casts, nationalities from all over the world including Belarus, USA, Japan, France, Russia, Kazakhstan, Estonia and of course also Ukraine.”