Dunstable theatre dragged into row over Jimmy Carr Holocaust comments

Dunstable's Grove Theatre has been drawn into the row over comments made by the comedian Jimmy Carr about the Holocaust.

The comedian is due to appear for a sell-out show at the theatre this evening (Tuesday, February 8) but the Luton Roma Trust, supported by Rachel Hopkins, Luton South MP, Luton Council of Mosques and Luton Sunni Council of Mosques, has called for an apology from Carr and an assurance from The Grove that he will not be repeating the slur against Gypsies, Roma and Traveller people, made in his Netflix show.

In his comedy special "His Dark Material", Carr 'jokes' that the Romani and Sinti genocide is ignored when people discuss the Holocaust is due to people not wanting to "focus on the positives".

While the show is to go ahead tonight, The Grove Theatre has issued a statement saying they do not condone his comments.

In a statement from the Luton community, organiser Paul Hammond said: "Those signing this statement believe that this is nothing short of a celebration of genocide and we extend our sympathy and support to the Roma, Sinti, traveller and gypsy community at this troubling and upsetting time.

"To those of us in Luton and Dunstable, we are alarmed that Carr’s show reaches our local Grove Theatre in Dunstable.

"Hundreds of thousands of Gypsies, Roma, and Traveller people were killed in the Holocaust alongside six million Jews, Russians and other minority groups. Historians estimate that as much as 25-50% of the entire Romani and Sinti population of Europe were victims of genocide at the hands of the Nazis, a crime of almost unimaginable proportions. To this day, affected communities in the UK and across Europe still struggle to navigate this immense collective trauma and come to terms with the scale of grief and loss.

"We appreciate that comedy is subjective but in our view when punchlines are indistinguishable from the genuinely-held views of fascists and Neo-Nazis, a line has very clearly been crossed. Ethnic Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers experience sustained and widespread discrimination in contemporary society – with recent polling indicating as many as 50% people hold negative opinions of them and material like this normalises further discrimination, and even violence, against already marginalised communities."

The group is demanding that Carr apologise, that Netflix remove the segment from the programme and the Grove Theatre seeks and provides a public assurance that the comments will not be repeated at his show tomorrow.

We approached Central Bedfordshire Council and they forwarded a statement from Carr's production company which said: "The show is brand new and does not repeat any material from Jimmy’s recent Netflix special ‘His Dark Material’.

"Any customers attending should be aware that Jimmy’s material could cause offence."

A spokesman for The Grove Theatre said: "Our Jimmy Carr date was secured some time ago, and was rescheduled as a result of the pandemic. The booking was made long before the recent comments came to light. We do not condone the comments made by Mr Carr and have been assured by his tour management that ‘The show is brand new and does not repeat any material from Jimmy’s recent Netflix special ‘His Dark Material’.

"As a receiving house Theatre, the Grove has no direct control of artistic content but we have spoken at length with the production company."