A Dolly Parton musical in Manchester was suspended mid-show due to the homophobic abuse spewed by an audience member.
Directed by Gabriel Barre, Here You Come Again is a musical comedy that features Parton’s character as a fairy godmother giving life lessons in song to a fan going through difficult times.
It recently ran at the Opera House Manchester from February 4 through 8 and according to Steven Webb – a stage actor who plays the role of a super fan of the country music icon in the musical – he and his colleagues are met with the abuse “almost every week”.
“The amount of audience members we have had to eject from our show due to homophobia is insane,” Webb shared in a TikTok. He continued: “Just this week, in Manchester alone, last night we had to eject someone who was shouting out slurs.
@thatsteviewebb
“On Wednesday (February 5), we had to stop the whole show… leave the stage, because a woman was so disgusted that there was a gay character onstage.”
He continued to share that there was a “massive ruckus” during the performance due to the woman shouting which then prompted other audience members to shout at her for being rude which resulted in them taking a 15-minute break.
“This is a Dolly Parton musical!” Webb said. “It’s just me and [an actor playing] Dolly Parton onstage, my character and Dolly Parton.”
Webb went on to reveal that the worst experience happened in London when a man allegedly shouted the F-slur during one performance, complaining that he “just wanted to see Dolly Parton”.
“It’s really opened my eyes, because we’re in such a bubble in this industry, but travelling the country and seeing how many people literally cannot bear to see a gay person depicted onstage, it’s wild,” the actor said. “I feel very sorry for them.”
According to BBC, ATG Entertainment, – which runs the venue – stated that they have a “zero tolerance” for incidents like that.
Parton has been a long-time supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. Back in 2014, she shared her support for gay marriage, previously telling the Daily Mail “Everyone should be with who they love.”
“I don’t want to be controversial or stir up a bunch of trouble but people are going to love who they are going to love,” she added, joking that “I think gay couples should be allowed to marry. They should suffer just like us heterosexuals.”
In other news, the country icon is set to appear on the deluxe version of Sabrina Carpenter’s LP ‘Short N’ Sweet’ which is set for release this Friday (February 14). Parton is featured on Carpenter’s track ‘Please, Please, Please”.