Dame Janet Suzman, the 74-year-old actress who was quoted in The Guardian as saying theatre was in the DNA of white people but not others, has moved to play down the remarks. Dame Janet told the BBC that her comments were exaggerated and that the ethnicity of stage actors "doesn't matter."

Janet SuzmanJanet Suzman suggested that theatre was in "white DNA"

Originally, the Shakespearean actor was responding to Meera Syal's appeal to the theatre industry to cater for more Asian audiences.

"Theatre is a white invention, a European invention, and white people go to it. It's in their DNA. It starts with Shakespeare," Dame Janet told The Guardian.

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Now, the Dame says her comments were accurate but slightly nuanced, agreeing with actress Syal that stage performances needed to be commissioned in order to attract wider audiences.

"Why are there not more Asian plays on in London? I agree that the theatre scene needs to be more diverse.

"Most of the faces I see at the theatre in London are white middle class with deep pockets, as it's so expensive.

"It seems to me that the solution is to just simply commission more Asian theatre performances.

"At the end of the day, if it's a good play, it's a good play. It doesn't matter what ethnicity the actors are," Dame Janet told the BBC.

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The acclaimed actress had also told the Guardian, "I've just done a South African play. My co-star is a young black man from the slums of Cape Town. Totally brilliant actor. I saw one black face in the room, at the Print Room.

"I rail against that and say why don't black people come to see a play about one of the most powerful African states?

"And they don't bloody come. They're not interested. It's not in their culture, that's why. Just as their stuff is not in white culture," she was quoted.

The comments were criticized by numerous actors on Twitter, including Sanjeev Bhaskar.