1 day ago
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Police were called to a comedy show in Essex after a fight broke out in the audience, which reportedly led to a man being assaulted.
Inquiries are ongoing after the altercation at the end of standup comic Paul Chowdhry’s performance of his Englandia tour at the Cliffs Pavilion in Westcliff-on-Sea, Southend.
Theatre management said a “small number of customers expressed their frustration” towards another customer who had been heckling the act throughout the evening.
Police officers attended the scene after reports of a disturbance. An Essex police spokesperson said: “It was reported a fight had broken out and a man was assaulted. No serious injuries were reported, officers attended and inquiries are ongoing.”
Chowdhry recorded footage on his phone while he was being heckled on stage, which he posted to Instagram. The comedian playfully swore at his heckler and said: “I’m gonna take a picture and make sure you’re never gonna get back in.”
Chowdhry also captured some of the disruption in the crowd afterwards. “Big fight is broken out after the show,” he said in the video. “It’s properly kicked off out here this evening. There was some riots here and now some people are probably kicking off tonight … I want to keep out of harm’s way because I might get jumped.”
In a statement the comedian added: “We live in a time when some people feel entitled to disrupt live performances, affecting the experience for everyone else. Let me be absolutely clear: I do not condone violence in any form.
“Live entertainment should be a space where people come together to enjoy and engage – not to create conflict. Hopefully, nothing like this happens at the O2 Arena in London this Thursday – it’s a little trickier managing 10,000 people.”
A spokesperson from Trafalgar Entertainment, operators of the Cliffs Pavilion, said staff “responded swiftly to defuse the situation”.
They added: “We take the safety of our audiences, staff and performers very seriously and condemn acts of violence and discrimination in the strongest possible terms.
“We will not hesitate to take action, including liaising with the police, should this be deemed necessary. We would like to remind all our customers to be respectful to each other, to performers and to our staff at future events.”
It was reported that staff appeared to physically restrain an audience member while he continued to shout.
Chowdhry is not the only comedian to have an issue with hecklers in recent weeks. Peter Kay threw two rowdy audience members out of his show at the AO Arena in Manchester, saying the repeated disruptions had made it impossible to continue.
