Don’t shoot the piano man

How a silent film pianist was blacklisted from the BFI for supporting J.K. Rowling

Jonny Best

IT’S FOUR YEARS SINCE J.K. ROWLING PUBLISHED the essay in which she discussed her experience of domestic violence and her concerns about the number of girls undergoing gender transition. She became a hate figure overnight. Three months after Rowling’s essay appeared, the novelist Jane Harris organised an open letter of support from figures in the arts including Sir Tom Stoppard, Jenni Murray and Barry Humphries. As you scroll down the letter, the names become less famous. Seventy-two people down, there’s me. I’ve worked in the arts all my life; in theatre, music, and arts festivals. For the last nine years I have been playing the piano for silent films. It’s a niche within a niche. I don’t own a house, and I don’t have a pension, but I enjoy my…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, August/September 2024

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