A venue has accepted that it discriminated against a Jewish comedian when it cancelled his show at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Stand-up comic Philip Simon had been due to perform a solo show called Shall I Compere Thee In A Funny Way at The Banshee Labyrinth, on the city’s Niddry Street. However, the venue pulled his act over what it said were his views on the conflict in Gaza.
In a statement given at the time to industry magazine Chortle, the venue said Mr Simon had expressed views on social media and elsewhere that it said “align with the rhetoric and symbology of groups associated with humanitarian violations”.
Comedian’s response
Responding to the decision on social media, the performer said he had been cancelled “just for being Jewish”. “The reason I was given is that my views concerning the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine… are in significant conflict with our venue’s stance against the current Israeli government’s policy and actions,” he said. “Anyone who knows me will know I have never expressed support for anything other than freeing the hostages and finding a way to peace. It is sad to think that these views could conflict with anyone who wants to see a lasting peace in Israel and Gaza.” He added: “I am still processing the concept that in 2025 I can be cancelled just for being Jewish.”
Legal action and concession
Mr Simon took legal action against the venue’s owner, Morrison Bros Ltd, claiming it had discriminated against him on the grounds of “unlawful belief-based discrimination”. This culminated in a hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday, where Mr Simon’s lawyer, David Welsh, said “on the eve of the hearing” the venue accepted it had acted unlawfully.
The lawyer told the court: “The defender conceded that the defender discriminated against the pursuer, contrary to the provisions of the Equalities Act.” He added: “Following the defence’s concession… the whole issue of liability has now been resolved in the pursuer’s favour. The pursuer has been entirely successful on the question of liability.”
However, he was very critical of the defender’s “conduct” throughout Mr Simon’s legal action, saying it had “dragged out proceedings” despite knowing any defence was “untenable”. He told the court this led to his client to incur “avoidable expenses at every stage”, and called on the court to award him expenses incurred to date. He added: “There was never a need for the action to reach the court in the first place, if the defender had behaved reasonably.”
Court proceedings and aftermath
Responding, the venue’s lawyer, Darren Cox, disputed whether it would have been possible to settle the matter pre-litigation. He said not all costs incurred to date related to the question of liability, and called for a decision on expenses to be deferred “until the end”.
Judge Sheriff Roderick Flinn told the court: “In this case parties have agreed by joint minute that the defender discriminated against the pursuer, contrary to the provisions of the Equalities Act 2010.” He added that the defender had acted “unreasonably” in leaving it until August 5 to accept it had discriminated against Mr Simon and said expenses relating to preparations for a substantive hearing would be awarded at the higher “solicitor-client” rate. He said the amount of damages to be awarded to Mr Simon would be determined at a future hearing.
In a statement issued following the case, Mr Simon said: “I’m pleased Banshee Labyrinth has eventually admitted they discriminated against me and that this draws a line under part of a stressful ordeal that I’ve endured for over a year now. It is a shame that Banshee Labyrinth decided to let this run all the way to just before the court hearing, rather than accepting any of our previous settlement offers that included an apology, antisemitism training and making a contribution to an antisemitism charity. For them to have defended the case for months, only to admit they discriminated at the very last minute, has made the whole situation even more upsetting.”
He added the case had “never been about money” – and was instead about “fighting against the idea that a performer can be cancelled because of their religion”. Natalie Stone, director of Friends in the Arts, said: “It’s a relief to hear that Banshee Labyrinth has admitted they acted unlawfully when they cancelled Jewish comedian Philip Simon at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe. Jewish artists should be able to perform and participate in the UK arts without being subjected to discrimination because of their identity.”
