Controversy has erupted in Niagara Region after the Catholic school board cancelled performances of a play that included a male character questioning his gender identity.

Jessica Carmichael, artistic director of Carousel Players — which has a 45-year history of presenting “challenging and entertaining works” for young people 5 to 15 — said five performances of Boys, Girls and Other Mythological Creatures were cancelled after an initial performance.

“It’s been very disappointing, to say the least,” Carmichael said.

But in a sign of how divisive the issue has become, John Crocco, director of education for the Niagara Catholic District School Board, insisted only four performances were cancelled.

“Unfortunately there’s been some misinformation that’s been shared in the community,” Crocco said, noting it’s the first time he’s aware of a dispute between the theatre company and the board over many years.

Carmichael similarly insisted “a lot of bad information” has been put out by the board.

The play, written by Mark Crawford, features a character who wears a dress at one point, but Carmichael stressed he is not transgender.

“At one point, (the boy) does say he wishes to be a girl. But at the end of the play he’s left questioning. He’s not transgender. This is not a play about a transgender youth who is transitioning. That’s not this play at all,” Carmichael said.

The theatre company received concerns from a Catholic sponsor of the play even before last week’s performance at a Niagara Falls elementary school, so Carmichael and another staff member met the principal beforehand.

A study guide was provided to school officials four weeks before the performances were slated to begin and the play was booked a year in advance, Carmichael said.

“(Crocco) is saying we never gave any schools any information about the play, which couldn’t be further from the truth,” Carmichael said.

Carmichael added that an arts consultant with the Catholic board who sits on the theatre company’s outreach committee was aware of the play’s content, something Crocco emphatically denies.

Crocco said that after the first performance, school staff determined the play was “inappropriate” for children in the younger grades.

“When the play was first performed, staff said that the play went beyond the description . . . (of) accepting differences, which is what we heard the play is all about,” Crocco said.

“We have a responsibility, a responsibility to students and families first, to ensure that we teach and provide opportunities . . . such as plays that are age-appropriate and are consistent with our gospel values, and that are within the board’s mission vision and values,” Crocco said.

Ministry of Education guidelines mandate all school boards across the province to provide information on sexual orientation and gender identity, which has generated concern from Catholic educators.

But Crocco said the ministry-mandated curriculum on gender identity and expression begins in Grade 3. The play had been performed for Grade 1 and 2 classes, he said.

Crocco also said the Niagara Catholic board has previously received four Premier’s Awards for Accepting Schools.

“To say that the message of the play — being your true self — is not appropriate for grades 1 to 4 is pretty sad,” Carmichael responded.

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Carmichael said the play also generated a number of negative “transphobic” comments from parents in the community accusing the theatre company of promoting “mental illness” and others using curse words.

At the same time, several Catholic teachers who saw the single performance gave it glowing reviews.

“Awesome performance as always. As a parent and a teacher, I thought it explored a ‘touchy’ subject and emotions exceptionally well,” one evaluation said.