Scotland's national opera has been criticised for continuing to display the name of the disgraced billionaire American donors accused of fuelling a drugs catastrophe in the US.
The Sackler family contributed to the £14.5million redevelopment of the Theatre Royal in Glasgow, which is owned by Scottish Opera, and the staircase in the main foyer was named The Sackler Staircase.
Dr Raymond Sackler and his brothers Mortimer (pictured) and Arthur studied at the Anderson College of Medicine, now part of Glasgow University.
For decades the name had been associated with generous philanthropic donations to galleries and museums in the UK, Europe and the US.
However, in recent years it has become toxic, with the family accused of profitting from the US opioids crisis, our sister title the Herald reported.
The Mortimer and Raymond branches of the Sackler family owned Purdue Pharma, the maker of the opioid painkiller OxyContin, which played a central role in what has been described as “the worst drug crisis in American history”.
When contacted by The Herald, Alex Reedijk, General Director of Scottish Opera said it had agreed “some time ago” to remove the sign and said removal works would be carried out “as soon as possible”.
Last year, the University of Glasgow bowed to pressure and removed the Sackler name from the neurosciences building at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in the city.
Removal came after mounting pressure from campaigners and the NHS.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Minister for Drugs Policy Sue Webber said:
“Many people have suffered addiction as a result of this family’s shameless profiteering through drugs that they helped to market.
“I’d encourage the Theatre Royal to do the right thing and remove this sign as soon as possible.”
Alex Reedijk, General Director of Scottish Opera, said: “As owners of Glasgow’s Theatre Royal, Scottish Opera has contacted the Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation in relation to its 2013 donation towards the refurbishment of the Theatre’s foyers.
“The Foundation sponsored the then-new staircase within the front-of-house area. This was named The Sackler Staircase.
“In the light of the ever-evolving challenges relating to the Sackler family, the Board of Scottish Opera Theatre Royal agreed some time ago to remove the name and signage from the staircase.
“Removal works have already been instructed and will be carried out as soon as possible.
“Scottish Opera wishes to thank The Sackler Foundation for its past support.”
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The Sackler family made an estimated $8 billion from the highly addictive painkiller OxyContin which was unlawfully marketed in the US as safer than alternative drugs by the family pharmaceutical firm Purdue.
A TV series Dopesick, starring Michael Keaton, examines how one company triggered the worst drug epidemic in American history.
In March The British Museum became the latest cultural organisation to remove the Sackler family name from galleries and rooms they have supported.
A biography of American physician Mortimer Sackler remains on the Glasgow University website. He studied at Anderson’s College of Medicine, an institution that became part of the University of Glasgow in 1947.
Edinburgh University is said to have removed online references to the Sackler Centre for Developmental Psychobiology, which was part-funded by the family.
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