Drug-taking to replace smoking on the Fringe
THE director of a Fringe play has turned one of its famous characters into a cocaine addict, because Scotland's new laws ban him from smoking on stage.
Ben Waring, the director of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, said he has been forced to axe smoking scenes and replace them with blatant drug-taking instead.
Mr Waring said the play had to be "modernised" because smoking was a key characteristic of one of its lead roles.
Critics of the ban yesterday said it was suppressing artistic freedom and spoiling some productions where smoking is an integral part.
In Mr Waring's version of the Tom Stoppard play, Rosencrantz will now snort the Class A drug to justify his erratic behaviour, previously put down to his persistent habit of smoking joints.
The move comes after a series of actors and directors have threatened to ignore the ban on smoking in public places.
Council officials this week threatened to shut down the Assembly Rooms if maverick actor Mel Smith, playing Winston Churchill in Allegiance, lit up one of his character's famous cigars on stage.
