A play entitled “God is a gangster” will be performed under police protection in Romania after the theatre hosting it received threats, police said Friday.
The play, written by Canadian actor and playwright Nick Mancuso, since October has been periodically playing at a theatre in the western city of Timisoara, which recently received a letter threatening “merciless punishment” if it kept hosting it.
“Undercover police officers will be among the audience next Saturday and we will also have police officers in uniform in the area to be able to react fast if anything happens”, Daniel Langa, the deputy police chief in the city, told journalists.
A few days before the letter, the representatives of all Christian denominations in Timisoara had asked the theatre to change the title of the play so as to respect Christian values in the predominantly Christian country.
The theatre’s director, Ada Hausvater, told AFP she was “surprised” by the uproar, as the play has already been performed on seven occasions without any trouble since its premiere in October 2012.