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Twelfth Night star Le Gateau Chocolat warns Emma Rice's critics: 'Don't kill the joy'

Globe boss: This is Emma Rice's last season in charge: Daniel Hambury/Stella Pictures
Globe boss: This is Emma Rice's last season in charge: Daniel Hambury/Stella Pictures

One of the stars of artistic director Emma Rice’s last major production at The Globe said her critics were “hindering progress” in the arts.

Cabaret artist Le Gateau Chocolat, Feste in Rice’s avant-garde take on Twelfth Night, spoke out against the criticism the director had faced over her use of light and sound technology.

Chocolat, who appears in full drag in Rice’s Seventies version of the comedy, said: “I would like people to engage with it on the merit of what they’ve seen, not, ‘This is what it should be here’.

“That’s a redundant approach. Nothing in this world stops or hinders progress more than ‘that’s how we’ve always done it’. There’s nothing that kills art, life, joy more. It’s ridiculous.”

The performer added: “This is my first time working with her and I can genuinely say she brings everything that she is to the table.”

It was announced in October that Rice, the first woman to take on the role, would end her tenure in April 2018 after only two years at the helm. The Globe board has indicated its desire to revert to more traditional uses of sound and lighting.

Le Gateau Chocolat in Twelfth Night (Hugo Glendinning)
Le Gateau Chocolat in Twelfth Night (Hugo Glendinning)

Last month Rice, right, published an impassioned letter to her as yet unchosen successor and insisted that, rather than being forced out, it had been her decision to leave.

She said: “As important and beloved as The Globe was to me, the board did not love and respect me back.”

The production is the last play Rice will direct in The Globe’s main space, and last night audience members were full of praise.

Carly Brennon said: “I thought it was incredible. I really loved it.” Rima Valdayo said: “It was fantastic.”