Theatre apologies after comic accused of 'abusing Jewish audience member'
A London theatre has apologised after a man and his friends were allegedly hounded by a comedian and the audience.
The incident is said to have taken place during Paul Currie's show at Soho Theatre after the Belfast comedian produced a Palestinian and Ukrainian flag on stage. Soho Theatre have apologised for "an incident … which has caused upset and hurt to members of audience attending and others".
An audience of 200 people were in attendance for the show on Saturday night (10 February) and according to an eye-witness, Currie allegedly placed a Ukrainian and a Palestinian flag on the stage, and invited audience members to stand and applaud. They claimed: "When we all sat down again, [Currie] looked towards a young man sitting in the second row and said: ‘You didn’t stand, why? Didn’t you enjoy my show?’
Paul often shares pro-Palestine content online and attends rallies (paulcurriecomedian/Instagram)
The comedian performed at Soho Theatre on Saturday (paulcurriecomedian/Instagram)The witness, who gave an anonymous account to the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), added: "The young man, who we discovered soon after was Israeli, replied: ‘I enjoyed your show until you brought out the Palestinian Authority flag.’" They claimed Currie said: "Get out of my show. Get the f**k out of here. F**k off, get the f**k out of here."
Other members of the audience allegedly joined in, as they shouted “Get out” and “Free Palestine”. The witness, who decided to leave the show with their friends, continued: "It felt like we were welcome in the theatre as long as our identities [as] Jews weren’t known, and the minute our identities were known, we felt threatened."
In a statement on their website published on Monday, the Soho Theatre apologies for the "upset and hurt" caused by the alleged incident and would be investigating. They said: "We are sorry and saddened by an incident that took place at our venue at the end of a performance of Paul Currie: Shtoom on Saturday 10 February, which has caused upset and hurt to members of audience attending and others. We take this very seriously and are looking into the detail of what happened as thoroughly, as sensitively, and as quickly as we can. It is important to us that Soho theatre is a welcoming and inclusive place for all."
A Met Police spokesperson told The Mirror: “We are aware of the incident that took place at the Soho Theatre on Saturday evening. We understand why it was upsetting for those involved and we note the venue has issued a statement confirming they are looking into what took place. A report was submitted to police on Monday and enquiries are ongoing.”
A spokesperson for CAA added: "What the Jewish audience members have recounted is atrocious, and we are working with them and our lawyers to ensure that those who instigated and enabled it are held to account. These allegations are of deeply disturbing discriminatory abuse against Jews. Comedians are rightly given broad latitude, but hounding Jews out of theatres is reminiscent of humanity’s darkest days, and must have no place in central London in 2024."
The Mirror has contacted Paul Currie for comment.
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