"Enough is enough" Theatre staff assaulted and spat on
The Director of the Edinburgh playhouse has said staff have been verbally and physically attacked in the last few weeks
Last updated 8th Feb 2023
Staff at the Edinburgh Playhouse have been physically and verbally attacked in recent weeks, according to the theatre director at the venue.
On a post to their Facebook page Colin Marr said he was "disgusted and angry" saying "Enough is enough".
The post reads:
"I am disgusted and angry with the unacceptable audience behaviour that my team has had to endure in recent weeks.
"They have been verbally and physically assaulted by a small number of audience members while trying to do their job. Two weeks ago one of my staff was punched. This week one of them was pushed and spat on. This is becoming far too regular an occurrence – not just in our theatre but in venues across the UK."
Mr Marr goes on to say that a very small minority of people come to the theatre to sing, dance and talk throughout the show in a manner that disturbs others.
He says: "They either don’t know, or don’t care, how much this spoils their fellow audience members’ experience."
The statement continues:
"I am asking that when you come to our venue that you are considerate towards your fellow audience members and our members of staff so that we can all enjoy the wonderful entertainment on the stage. Please be in no doubt that if you are abusive towards our staff you will be asked to leave, and if you are threatening, intimidating or physically abusive we will call the police and you will be banned from our theatre and all ATG Venues."