A Dolly Parton-themed musical in Manchester was suspended after the whole cast walked off in protest over an audience member shouting homophobic abuse.
A performance of Here You Come Again, featuring songs from the American country singer, at the Manchester opera house last Wednesday was halted for about 20 minutes after a woman caused an audience “ruckus”.
Stevie Webb, one of the actors in the production, said homophobic abuse from audiences across the country was a regular occurrence.
In a TikTok video posted on Sunday, he said: “The amount of audience members that we have had to eject from our show due to homophobia is insane.
“Just this week, in Manchester alone, last night we had to eject someone who was shouting out slurs.
“On Wednesday we had to stop the whole show, because a woman was so disgusted there was a gay character on the stage. She was shouting out and then all the audience started shouting at her and there was a massive ruckus.
“She was eventually ejected and we could start again but we were stopped for 15 or 20 minutes.”
ATG Entertainment, which runs the venue, said it took a “zero tolerance” approach to such incidents.
The production features a gay character and Parton is considered by many to be a gay icon, after becoming a vocal supporter and early advocate for gay marriage.
• Rise in drunks and racists in Fringe audiences since Covid
Webb, who was previously in a relationship with the actor Stephen Fry, said the continued incidents had “opened his eyes” to the amount of homophobia across the country.
“London was the worst which is crazy to me,” he said. “It’s a Dolly Parton musical mate … it’s going to be a little bit gay obviously.”
“But the amount of people, it has really opened my eyes because we are in such a bubble in this industry, but travelling the country and seeing how many people literally cannot bear to see a gay person depicted on stage, it is wild.”
Performances in Manchester have also been disturbed by outbreaks of violence recently. Last year a man was detained on suspicion of assault after a disturbance during a performance of Swan Lake at the opera house.
In November 2023 a fight broke out between two members of the audience at a performance of Hamilton, only days after the musical opened at the Palace Theatre.
