Mick Hartley

We heard about the exciting new play Terf C*** back in January. Its subject is JK Rowling and, as the title may suggest, it's not altogether supportive of her gender-critical stance. Now, apparently, they're having trouble finding actors for its Edinburgh Fringe debut. Well, trouble finding female actors. No problem with the men:

A play that criticises JK Rowling’s views on gender is struggling to cast women with 90 actresses so far rejecting parts.

The stage production, which is set to debut at the Edinburgh Fringe, has already caused outrage over a working title which labelled the gender-critical Harry Potter author a c—-.

The production is yet to cast any of the female roles, including that of Rowling herself.

The part of Harry Potter film star Emma Watson has also been repeatedly turned down, and around 90 actresses have refused to take part in the project amid concerns over its critique of Rowling….

Actors have been found for male leads, who will portray Harry Potter cast members Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe.

Creative producer Barry Church-Woods told the Telegraph: “This project has met some kind of resistance every step of the way, though I’ve been generally surprised by how difficult it has been for us to recruit the female cast in particular.

“It’s a well-paid gig meeting industry standards and the script is terrific.”…

It has been suggested by producers that some actresses may not want to appear in a play critiquing Rowling and ruin their chances of appearing in the lucrative new Harry Potter TV series on the Max streaming service.

Rowling is acting as executive producer for the series, and will be involved in key decision-making.

Mr Church-Woods said: “We’ve had agents reluctant to put names forward, I suspect, because they do not want to damage their clients chances of landing roles on the new Potter TV series.”

Well of course, yes, that must be it. The men, inspired by the terrific script and unconcerned about any possible damage to their careers or chances of featuring in the high-paying Harry Potter franchise, don't have a problem. For them art comes before money. For the venal grasping women, alas, it's a different story.

Or it could be that they find the whole thing deeply offensive, while the men are happy to join in with the abuse of women who speak out.