Protest in London against "yellowface" practice

A group of protesters gathered in west London Friday to denounce a theater casting white actors in a play set in ancient China as "yellowface" practice.

Around 100 people attended the protest held outside the Print Room Theater, where the play "In The Depths Of Dead Love" was launched this week with an all-white cast for a story set in ancient China.

"Any kind of 'yellowface' in this day and age is not OK," 34-year-old British Chinese actress Gemma Chan told the London Evening Standard.

"I'm shocked this happened," said Chan, who was among the protesters.

Hollywood Actor Benedict Wong also joined the demonstration outside the theater in London's trendy Notting Hill area.

Both Chan and Wong said that "yellowface", a term for the exclusion of east Asian actors, was an unacceptable practice.

The Print Room said they were "sorry for clearly misjudging the offence some would take" but denied any ethnic disparagement or discrimination.

The Theater said that the characters were allusions, not intended to be taken literally.

Protesters outside the theater brandished placards with slogans like "Narnia is imaginary, China is real" and "this production was made by racists."

The theater pledged to meet actors' union Equity to discuss the controversy. Endi