Kit Harington has hit back at criticism of black-only nights for West End plays as “vaguely ridiculous”.
The 37-year-old Game Of Thrones actor is in the cast of Slave Play at the Noel Coward Theatre, which has set aside two performances aimed at an “all-black-identifying audience” which is “free from the white gaze”.
A spokesman for then prime minister Rishi Sunak criticised the idea in February as being “wrong and divisive”.
Harrington defended the theatrical production following the first black-out performance, and told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme he believes it is “an incredibly positive thing” .
He said: “Number one – if you are white, no-one’s stopping you buying a ticket, it’s not illegal to buy a ticket for that show, if you want to come. It’s saying ‘We would prefer the audience to be this’.
“Number two – I’ve been going to the theatre since I was young, with my mum. I’ve only ever really known predominantly white audiences. It is still a particularly white space.
“So to have the argument that ‘Oh, this is discriminating against white people’ is, I think, vaguely strange and ridiculous.”
Harrington also called it “unlike anything I’ve ever experienced” because it provides a space where “a certain group of people can come and feel open to laughing in a certain way, reacting in a certain way, in sort of safety”.
However, he warned that audiences could feel “sucker-punched” by the play because the actors are “saying words to each other, at each other, that you shouldn’t and don’t hear uttered in society”.
Harington also said he is “kind of terrified” each night due to being naked during the play.
His co-star, I’m A Virgo actress Olivia Washington, daughter of two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington, said she thinks the play is “positive” because with “difficult subject matter, it can get hard for people to hear”.
She added: “However, to feel supported by this room in a different kind of way felt just… it felt really great.”
The production, playing from June 29 until September 21, has its second black-out night on September 17.
Previously staged on Broadway, the play was nominated for 12 Tony Awards and tells a story of “race, identity and sexuality” at the MacGregor Plantation in the southern US during the early 21st century.
The writer, Emily In Paris star Jeremy O Harris, has defended the production, saying it is not just for “black-only” audiences and there will be no restrictions on the black-out nights.
The producers said “no-one will be prevented or precluded from attending any performance of Slave Play”.
Comedian and actor Stephen Fry, who also appeared on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, also defended it as a “fair idea” which will encourage more diverse theatregoers.
Harington has previously said a spin-off about his Game Of Thrones character, Jon Snow, is no longer in development, but told the BBC he hopes there will be a return.
“At the moment, there isn’t the right story to tell there for him and so it’s best just to leave it because you don’t want to ruin a kind of beloved character by taking it too far,” he said.
Harington is married to his Game Of Thrones co-star Rose Leslie, who played his love interest Ygritte in the series, and they have two children.
