The cast of Only Fools and Horses: The Musical were reportedly targeted with vile racist abuse from an audience member.
The hit musical recently performed at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, West London. Reports say that on Friday evening, cast members, including Bradley John and Gloria Acquaah-Harrison, who play Denzil Tulser and Mrs. Obooko, were subjected to vile heckling.
Sources say some of the show’s stars were left “visibly upset” by the incident, which led the stage show’s organisers to release a statement online condemning the actions, reports the Mirror.
The statement read: “Here at Only Fools and Horses The Musical we always act with respect and kindness towards ourselves and others. We do expect our audiences to do the same.”
It continued: “Any unkind comments, bullying, discrimination or any form of abuse towards our cast or company members will not be tolerated by the producers or theatres. We expect respect on and off stage.
“We are committed to working closely with the venue teams to ensure that our cast, company and audiences embrace an environment of respect, inclusivity and safety.”
A witness to the abuse told The Sun: “It was a rowdy crowd, with everyone in the Christmas spirit. But this idiot spoiled the performance for those in ear shot. Security were unable to identify the culprit and eject them.”
Another said that “cast members were visibly upset” by what was going on. “They couldn’t believe what they were hearing,” they said.
The show features Paul Whitehouse as Grandad and has included Vinnie Jones as a guest star during its three-week run at the venue.
Last week, Sir David Jason attended the gala performance of Only Fools and Horses: The Musical in London and reflected on his old friends. The 84-year-old legend, best known for playing Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter on the BBC sitcom from 1981 to 1991, including several Christmas specials, described the entire performance as a ‘memory’ for him.
After the show ended, he said: “It’s very, very good. What I did like about it was so much of the original script was used and they did it so well that sometimes it took me by surprise. The whole show was a memory for me of the whole thing – the script, the characters. It was lovely to see them all and everybody was working so well together, very much like we did.”
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Sir David confessed that he was going to ‘cry’ as he felt so touched by the entire production, as he continued: “I’m going to have a boo now. I’m so moved.”
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