Sex workers accuse Griffin, Malthouse of exploitation

The theatre companies deny claims that Peta Brady's Ugly Mugs exploits sex workers, saying it is a work of fiction.
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Steve Le Marquand and Peta Brady in a scene from Ugly Mugs.

A Malthouse/Griffin co-production, Ugly Mugs – inspired in part by the 2013 murder of St Kilda sex worker Tracy Connelly and currently showing in Sydney – has come under attack, with allegations raised that it represents ‘both a breach of trust and an alarming low point in exploitation of sex workers’.

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Richard Watts is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM, and serves as the Chair of La Mama Theatre's volunteer Committee of Management. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and was awarded the status of Melbourne Fringe Living Legend in 2017. In 2020 he was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize. Most recently, Richard was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Green Room Awards Association in June 2021. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts