A Palestinian theatre group has accused the ACT government of censorship over a planned performance at the National Multicultural Festival.
The Sydney-based group, Tales of a Homeland, has pulled out of the festival, saying they were told to remove references to Gaza from their performance and they were moved to a "less-favourable location".
The play set out to portray daily life in Gaza with scenes of health workers, journalists, a Palestinian wedding and a traditional dance - dabkeh.
Festival organisers denied suggestions they had sought to suppress the performance and said the planned stage move was actually to accommodate for a potential increase in crowd numbers.
An ACT government spokesperson said the festival was looking forward to welcoming them perform at a "prime time" and about 40 groups also had their stage and times changed in the final days.
"We acknowledge there were changes in timing (one hour change) and location of their performance," the spokesperson said.
"The performance was moved to a stage with larger and unrestricted space to cater for a potential increase in crowd numbers. We had provided updates to the General Delegation of Palestine and the performers of these changes."
But Tales of a Homeland co-director Jana Fayyad said they were told via calls with festival organisers on January 30 and again on February 9, that they would have to remove references to Gaza from their performance.
A government spokesperson said they had simply asked performers to ensure their performance was in line with the values of the festival, saying it was an apolitical celebration.
Ms Fayyad said the government invited them to perform at the festival in late December and subsequently approved their production Gaza Press as a performance. Two weeks before the event, organisers told her and co-director Mostafa Al Zaqzouq the festival must remain cultural and no political messages were allowed in performances.
"We told them we completely understand ... since our inception, it has been one of our core values to remain apolitical and non-secular," she said.
"We told them there's absolutely no mention of any politics, no mention of any political party, no mention of the word 'Israel'. That it's simply about the stories of doctors, journalists, mothers, fathers and community workers in Gaza."
Organisers said they were assured by the group their performance was in line with the "values and objectives" of the festival.
"We ask all festival participants and visitors to respect the values, aims and spirit of the festival - an event filled with passion, joy and the spirit of celebration which instils a sense of pride and community in everyone involved - and to showcase cultures in that light," the spokesperson said.
"This is applied consistently and fairly to all communities represented at the festival."
Ms Fayyad said they conducted weeks of rehearsals and heavily advertised the new production.
However, following the stoush this week, the group decided to withdraw from the festival and cancel booked accommodation and flights to Canberra.
Ms Fayyad said the Palestinian community was grieving and this portrayal of culture and art would have been an opportunity for to heal.
"For us to be met by such animosity from the ACT government ... it just it really makes us feel completely unsupported in Australia that preaches to be inclusive and diverse and a voice of all," she said.
"It was the first time that we were meant to debut [Gaza Press] that's why this festival was so important to us," she said. "People actually booked flights from Brisbane to Canberra so they could see our show."
She said the group was appalled by the behaviour of festival organisers and accused the government of censoring art and policing culture.
"It's unfortunate that we were met with discrimination from the National Multicultural Festival in Canberra and the unprofessional conduct that we received five days before the festival was due is unacceptable," Ms Fayyad said.
"We told them that we will be taking our production to welcoming and non-discriminatory stages."
Ms Fayyad said organisers were trying to do "damage control" after a online media statement from Tales of a Homeland was widely shared and discussed on social media.
The government spokesperson said it had not received formal confirmation from the group.
