Smoke Targeted on Scottish Stage

David Savona
Posted: August 15, 2006

British actor and director Mel Smith has made headlines lately for standing up for his rights as a cigar smoker. Smith, who is portraying Winston Churchill in the play Allegiance, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, had vowed to light up on stage in his role as the legendary British statesman, but officials had threatened to shut down the production should he set fire to his cigar.

Smith backed down from his stance last week after the Edinburgh City Council also threatened him with a fine of £1,000 ($1,900) should the actor portraying Churchill smoke a Churchill. Typical fines for those who break Scotland's smoking ban, which went into effect March 26, are only £50 ($95).

"It would have delighted Adolf Hitler," said Smith to a Scottish paper, according to several sources. "Adolf Hitler, as you know, was anti-smoking. You couldn't smoke at Adolf Hitler's dining table, so he'd be pleased, wouldn't he? Congratulations, Scotland." Smith, who portrayed The Albino in the movie The Princess Bride and directed the film Bean, didn't return calls seeking comment.

The actor wasn't the only one threatened by authorities should he light his cigar -- the venue's artistic director of play, William Burdett Coutts, could have lost his license to put on plays at The Fringe. "I was told before his first performance on Monday by the council's chief enforcement officer that if Mel had smoked on stage, I would have been given a £1,000 fine and he would shut down the entire premises," he said in a story on BBC. "It was an extremely serious situation because he said he would also never give me a license again." Other plays at The Fringe have had to make changes due to the smoking ban. A Fringe production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, was to have the actor portraying Rosencrantz smoking marijuana to explain his behavior. When told that the character could not light up on stage, the director changed his addiction to cocaine, which the character now snorts quite copiously in an act that conforms with current Scottish law.

The Fringe, described by its organizers as the world's largest arts festival, with some 1.4 million tickets sold, runs from August 6 through 28.

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