Libel in a play

[ejog]

Hello writers,

 

I am writing a play which includes 2 characters (in a nursing home) who have delusions about being 2 very famous political people who are still alive, but no longer in politics. They imagine themselves in historical situations, in the role of their delusional characters. It is, therefore, easy to know which people are being portrayed.

 

My friends say: go ahead and write the play - worry about libel if it shows any sign of being performed or published.

 

Any comments?

[coyleys]

Welcome aboard ejog.

I will start the ball rolling...

This is an interesting one; I suppose it will be made plain that this is a work of fiction, and assuming that the narrative is about the politician’s public life and not private life, it should be ok. But I may be wrong.

-------

Check this out...

 

http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/07/10/real-people-unreal-worlds-are-you-liable-to-libel/

[ejog]

Dear Coyleys,

 

Thankyou for the welcome and the quick reply, also for the link which is plenty of food for thought.

 

There are scenes based on historic footage (and connected speeches) of the Falklands victory celebration and the national miners' strike. These are interspersed with the care assistants and doctor trying to make sense of the patients' delusions from a present day perspective. The two main characters share first names with the famous people, but it is made clear that this is a work of fiction (it is, after all, a play) and that the two people are suffering from delusions about their identities.

 

If a proper publisher goes for it, they will run it past their legal people, but I have a contact with an experimental theatre group in London who do productions prior to publication.

[ejog]

I should have said 'hello' properly.

 

My name is John and I am a retired doctor who writes music. I have recently revised an opera, based on Scott's Ivanhoe, for production in Ashby de la Zouch on 9.7.11. That opera was written ten years ago, and I have since written an oratorio and a symphony.

 

For a number of years, I have been thinking about a contemporary theme for an opera, but there is no text available on the subject. Therefore I will have to write my own libretto from scratch, which is why I am starting with the play.

 

I have some previous literary experience: two novels, written many years ago, in the loft; two specialist books for doctors and primary care workers on communication skills and the use of arts in professional practice.

 

The script for the play is finished and I am now revising it. The time to worry about libel is later, perhaps?

[Mantaspook]

Hi ejog,

 

Your friends are correct, up to a point, by all means write your play but the moment it looks like the play may be performed or published (or even shown to another person) then it would be wise to seriously consider seeking a legal review before going public.

 

The classic definition is that a defamatory libel is a statement in some permanent form, published about a person whom it exposes to hatred, ridicule or contempt or causes them to be shunned or avoided (or injures their office, profession or trade.)

 

It could be argued that your two (fictional) characters are behaving in a defamatory manner by donning the mantle of the real politicians and by behaving in an eccentric manner, indeed, even their perceived senility may be objectionable to the subjects you are portraying.

 

From what I've read on the subject, English libel laws are the best in the world... for the claimant. ie:

 

"London is the libel capital of the World. American journalists dub it 'a town named sue' since its claimant-friendly environment attracts litigants unable or unwilling to take their chances under American or European defamation laws which afford better protection for media defendants".

 

With this in mind, even if your choice of politicians is vital to the plot, I'd seriously consider substituting them with dead people because they have the inimitable redeeming feature that the can't sue you. Alternatively, wait for your politicians to die or perform out a legal review by a legal expert, but even this last course is no guarantee because the libel laws are so nebulous, for a classic example see what happened to Bill Roache from Coronation Street.

 

The most difficult question when reviewing material for libel risks is whether a potential claimant is really likely to bring proceedings.

 

Book publishers & newspapers often have risky material reviewed by specialist lawyers before it is published. It would make sense, should you decide to proceed, to invest in a libel review rather than risk potentially ruinous litigation.

 

Personally, I'd avoid this minefield and replace the potential litigants with fictional / dead characters.

 

P.S. If you can, get hold of a book called "A Twist in the tale" by Jeffrey Archer and see if you can spot the section that caused him & his publishers to be successfully sued for £8 million.

[coyleys]

I knew we could rely on Mantas for some good advice. One interesting point you made a couple of times…

 

I'd seriously consider substituting them with dead people because they have the inimitable redeeming feature that they can't sue you.

 

What about their next of kin, could they not sue?

[HeadingNorth]

I knew we could rely on Mantas for some good advice. One interesting point you made a couple of times…

 

 

 

What about their next of kin, could they not sue?

 

You cannot sue for libel/slander on behalf of someone else. Therefore, if the target if your comments is dead, you are immune from such lawsuits.

 

There are ways to get around this, a famous one involving Cecil Gladstone, son of the Prime Minister of that name. He was infuriated by comments made about his deceased father by a Captain Wright, and his response was to provoke Wright into suing him for libel - whereupon his lawyer flayed Wright alive in the court and forced him to publicly retract every allegation he'd made about William Gladstone. Wright lost his case, on the grounds that the foul names Cecil Gladstone had bandied about him were probably justified!

[ejog]

Thanks for all these thoughts and for the links from Mantaspook.

It's not what I want to hear, but I need to.

I can't see how to avoid using these characters, as they are central to to the story. So I'll just have to wait for them to die, if I live that long myself.

Alternatively, is it possible to be shielded by a publisher carrying appropriate insurance, or even to buy a one-off insurance policy, myself, for this work?

Otherwise it's back to symphony no 2.

 

John

[HeadingNorth]

I can't see how to avoid using these characters, as they are central to to the story. So I'll just have to wait for them to die, if I live that long myself.

Alternatively, is it possible to be shielded by a publisher carrying appropriate insurance, or even to buy a one-off insurance policy, myself, for this work?

 

 

Those things are possible. Plus, of course, depending on the actual details of your play you may not be libelling anyone; the notion of someone who believes he is Jim Callaghan, for instance, and behaving absurdly as a result, does not necessarily impugn Jim Callaghan's character or imply that he is absurd. The risk you run is that it might do, and if Callaghan - or rather, whichever characters you are actually using - believes that it has, they may sue you.

 

If you reach the point where the play is likely to be published, the publishers' own lawyers would advise on this issue.

[ejog]

Thankyou. This is very helpful.

I will definitely have to go through a publisher. Does anyone know of a publisher, or an agent, who might be recommended to handle this sort of thing?

 

John