A theatre in Liverpool is reviewing its internal procedures after being contacted by Jewish News about its hosting of a comedian who blames Israel for the murder of the Bibas brothers.
On 10 July, the Unity theatre, originally constructed in 1857 as the city’s first synagogue but now functioning as a secular theatre and charitable arts organisation, is scheduled to introduce Sundeep Bhardwaj, who since the Hamas atrocities of October 7, 2023, has published vast amounts of troubling content on social media.
These including antisemitic tropes about ‘rich’ Jews, posts accusing Israel of genocide and ethnic cleansing, others appearing to praise Hamas, a terror group proscribed in the UK, by declaring his pronouns are ‘he/Hamas’ and comparing Israel to the Covid virus.
Screenshot: Instagram
Referring to Israel, he says “all the problems in the world right now are coming from that one little experimental lab that has been set up in the Middle East”, calling it an “illegitimate bullshit experiment that needs to be shut down” before adding “they need to wrap it up and find a vaccine for it.”
In another recent post, he says: “Just wanted to let you know that the leading causes of anti-semitism in the world is Israel. You’re welcome.”
Screenshot: Instagram
In a post entitled ‘Israel Square’, he wears what appears to be dollar bills to imitate the payot worn by Orthodox men, and says “The best things in life are free, but if you’re Israeli, the best things in life are stolen” and calls Israel’s former minister of defence Yoav Gallant a “war criminal”.
Bhardwaj’s Liverpool performance is part of his ‘Ceasefire’ for Palestine comedy tour to Glasgow, London’s iconic Comedy Store and parts of Europe including Sweden and Norway. He is also promoting a performance in Dubai on August 29th.
Born in India, Sundeep Bhardwaj’s biography describes him as someone who “identifies as a Luxembourger. With his unique style of comedic storytelling, Sundeep has entertained audiences with his misadventures as an Indian immigrant, from being married to a Polish woman and getting thrown out of a church, to being mistaken for a kidnapper.”
Unity Theatre Liverpool. Screenshot
His material, self-described as a “futile attempt at understanding colonialism” makes reference to “lots of stories from India’s own freedom struggle against the British rule”.
Eleanor Manson-Sawko, executive director of the Unity Theatre, told Jewish News: “The event in question is a private hire of Unity Theatre’s building and is not part of our artistic programme. We are not producing, promoting, or endorsing the event.”
She said that the venue “makes its spaces available for external hire by a wide range of individuals and organisations” and that these hires “are separate from our curated programme, which is developed in line with our organisational values and artistic vision.”
Pic: Sundeep Bhardwaj website
She added that because she can “understand the concerns raised” she will “be undertaking an internal review of the hire contract to ensure it reflects Unity Theatre’s values and expectations for all users of our space. In addition to reviewing this event against our own EDI (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion) Policy.”
Neither Blackfriars of Bell Street pub, the venue for Bhardwaj’s Glasgow performance on Tuesday 8 July, nor the Comedy Store in London, booked for Wednesday 9 July, have responded to requests for comment.
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Contacted by Jewish News, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which awarded the Unity Theatre a grant in February 2025 “to explore and share the heritage of the building and the Unity Theatre Movement” said: “We do not have any involvement or influence on the programming at the theatre other than the community performance that will be created as part of the project we have funded.”
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Arts Council England funds Unity Theatre through its national portfolio for 2023-26 with £281,465 per year.
Their spokesperson told Jewish News “We can confirm we have followed up with Unity Theatre to understand how they are responding to these concerns, and to make sure they are following their own policies and procedures.”
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They added: “The comedy scheduling you refer to is not part of the activity delivered using Arts Council funding”, noting that the management board of the theatre “remain fully responsible for the operations, artistic programme, and the day-to-day management of their activities.”
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It expects expect all organisations it funds “to provide safe and welcoming spaces, and to champion artistic freedom of expression within the parameters of any relevant laws.”
Neither arts organisation Culture Liverpool, a supporter of the Unity Theatre, nor Sundeep Bhardwaj who has also performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, have responded to Jewish News requests for comment.
