The new editor of one of Australia's leading newspapers has been forced to print a grovelling apology on his first day in the role after a controversial and offensive cartoon sparked widespread outrage.

Melbourne-based paper The Age caused a social media uproar after a caricature depicting two black women performing on a stage was published in The Sunday Age on the weekend.

The cartoon ran alongside arts editor Elizabeth Flux's scathing article about the internationally acclaimed play Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner.

She wrote the masthead wouldn't review the play, claiming its Australian producers Amylia Harris and Leila Enright requested reviewers be 'people of colour'.

She also accused the pair of 'tokenism' for refusing to provide free tickets to white reviewers.

Within hours of Patrick Elligett starting his new role as The Age editor, an 'unreserved' apology was published on the masthead's Twitter page on Monday night and again in Tuesday's print edition.

'The Age accepts that the cartoon, in its depiction of people of colour, was offensive. The Age apologises unreservedly and withdraws its publication,' the apology states.

The masthead added Ms Flux wasn't aware of the cartoon prior to it being published and had no involvement in its commissioning.

'We stand by the decision to publish Flux's opinion and remain committed to publishing commentary and reporting on issues of race and identity within the arts. The Age condemns the abuse directed at Flux on social media,' Mr Elligett said.

Mr Elligett's promotion as The Age editor was announced a fortnight ago after Gay Alcorn recently stepped down to take care of her unwell husband.

Ms Flux, a Hong-Kong-born Eurasian raised in Australia who's been the masthead's arts editors for six months, retweeted her employer's online apology on Monday night. 

The cartoon depicted two women performing on stage in front of theatre goers, including a 'PoC only' critic.

It was illustrated by The Age cartoonist Joe Benke, who insisted he 'obviously never intended' to offend the performers.

He added he had drawn them from a photograph of the women performing in the production and conceded it was 'difficult to illustrate persons of colour without getting into hot water'.

'Next time I guess I'll just have to draw them as silhouettes or something,' Mr Benke told The Australian.

The cartoon no longer appears in the The Age's online library of past print editions and has been deleted from the edition on the State Library of Victoria's website.

It comes after it sparked widespread outrage led by theatre community group Stage a Change, which described the cartoon as 'abhorrent' and 'absolutely disgusting'.

'Frankly speaking, this article is dipped in, spackled with, and power washed down with so much fragility,' the group said.

'Fragility that has missed the point and self-aggrandized so epically.

'Caricatures of these two actors should have not been used in this way.'

Other art and theatre lovers weighed in on the bandwagon of backlash.

'The cartoon that was placed beside the article in the print edition changes the conversation dramatically. As a theatre reviewer myself, this cartoon actually makes me feel ill and powerless in this Anglo dominated industry,' one woman wrote.

Another added: 'The editorial decision to run this cartoon with this ridiculous article that ultimately highlights the fact that the Age could not find a single PoC to review a play they admit has a specific purpose of promoting woc is bonkers.'

But not everyone was offended by the cartoon.

'I'm sorry but What The? Was it not the producers of this play who banned 'white' journalists? If THAT is not racist then I don't know what is? Can't see anything wrong with the cartoon, and can't stand people apologising just to appease the woke side of society (& racist),' a man tweeted. 

Rival Herald Sun cartoonist Mark Knight, who sparked global outrage in 2018 over his illustration of tennis star Serena Williams's infamous tantrum at the US Open, also jumped to Mr Benke's defence and slammed The Age for backing down.

'Poor old Joe Benke, he's been hung out to dry for just doing his job,' Mr Knight told The Australian.

'He's drawn two people as he's seen them, and The Age has backtracked at the first whiff of outrage. '