Tuesday evening's performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Chichester Festival Theatre was called off with the audience already seated, after a member of the company was attacked and chased through the city centre earlier that evening.
The theatre says the incident took place in the early evening of Tuesday 13 October, ahead of the 7.30pm show. In a statement reported by The Stage, it described the performer as the victim of "an appallingly abusive attack", adding that they had been "aggressively hounded and physically pursued through the centre of Chichester". It has not identified the actor, and says it cannot add further detail because the matter is in the hands of the police.
The cancellation was announced from the stage by Justin Audibert, the theatre's artistic director and the director of the production. According to the venue, the cast member, the rest of the company and the staff were all badly shaken, which is why the evening performance did not go ahead. Ticket holders are being contacted by the box office to rebook or take a refund.
The theatre also says the actor was not physically hurt. Performances resumed on Wednesday 14 October, and the production continues until its run ends on Saturday 17 October.
Sussex Police is now treating the incident as a hate crime. In a statement reported by The Argus, the force said it was investigating a report of homophobic abuse towards a man in a car park behind East Street and Little London in Chichester at about 6pm on 13 October. It has asked witnesses, or anyone with information who has not already come forward, to report it online or by calling 101, quoting reference 47260238010.
Closing its statement, the theatre said: "We are profoundly sad and dismayed that such an atrocious thing has happened here in Chichester, and know that the vast majority of our fellow citizens will share our repugnance. We will do everything in our power to support the actor affected, and our companies, now and in the future."
Audibert's staging, which moves Shakespeare's comedy to a 1990s rave on the South Downs, began its run in the Festival Theatre on 18 September. What the critics made of it is collected in our review roundup.
