Comedian Paul Currie has been banned from London’s Soho Theatre after he “hounded” Jewish members of the audience out of his show.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, the theatre said that following his show on Saturday, Jewish audience members were subjected to “verbal abuse” and Currie “aggressively demanding they leave the theatre”.
It condemned Currie’s actions as “appalling”, adding they “have no place on our stages, now or ever”.
“Soho Theatre will not tolerate intimidation of audience members due to their nationality, race, religion or beliefs,” the theatre said in the statement.
“On Saturday evening, following the end of Paul Currie’s show Shtoom, Jewish members of the audience were subjected to verbal abuse and the performer aggressively demanding they leave the theatre.
“Such appalling actions are unacceptable and have no place on our stages, now or ever. We will not be inviting Paul Currie back to perform at our venue.
Soho Theatre statement 13 February 2024 pic.twitter.com/nV6qEjjWtc
— Soho Theatre (@sohotheatre) February 13, 2024
“Whilst we robustly support the right of artists to express a wide range of views in their shows, intimidation of audience members, acts of antisemitism or any other forms of racism will not be tolerated at Soho Theatre.
“We are continuing our investigation, discussing the incident with that evening’s audience and consulting with the police.
“We are working with the Campaign Against Antisemitism to meet with members of the audience who were affected. We are taking professional advice to safeguard the much-valued inclusivity of Soho Theatre.”
The incident on Saturday night came after the performance, which was a non-verbal comedy show. It fell on the final night of Shtoom’s three-night run.
Terrified Israeli man Liahav Eitan was allegedly told to “get the f*** out” as Mr Currie encouraged his crowd to chant “free Palestine”.
Mr Eitan, out celebrating his 33rd birthday with a friend, had been in the second row at the Soho Theatre on Saturday when Currie shouted at him.
The software engineer on Tuesday claimed he feared Currie was going to “punch” him and criticised the West End audience’s “mob mentality”.
On X, formerly Twitter, non-governmental organisation Campaign Against Antisemitism said it has investigated the incident, spoken to the audience members affected, and “reviewed the legal options”.
“@SohoTheatre has engaged with us positively and swiftly,” it said. “It is clear that the venue was caught by surprise. The show was supposed to be non-verbal, and had been on previous evenings.
“Soho Theatre has clearly condemned Paul Currie and confirmed that he will never again perform on their stage.
“The theatre is cooperating with the police investigation. We will be arranging for senior representatives of the theatre to meet with Jewish members of the audience to talk about what happened. This is all precisely as it should be.
“We are continuing to review legal options in respect of Mr Currie and are discussing the matter with members of the audience. If you attended the show, please do contact us at investigations@antisemitism.org.”
The Met police previously said it is aware of the incident, and that its enquiries into what happened are ongoing.
Mr Currie has yet to make a public comment on the incident.
