A Harry Potter fan was left fuming after an actor in a 'spontaneous' production reportedly told the audience he had never read the books and told them to 'suck my balls'.
The unnamed cast member performing with Spontaneous Potter at Salisbury Arts Centre in Wiltshire on Saturday, May 13, is said to have insulted theatre-goers when they responded negatively to their admission.
Super-fan Victoria Flint, 42, and her boyfriend, had bought new cloaks and wands in preparation for the event - and were left disappointed by the show.
The couple say they weren't impressed by the contents of the show - as it had little relation to the wizarding franchise.
Sharing what happened during the shock production, Victoria told the Swindon Advertiser: “The first thing that the main character said when opening the show was, 'I have never watched a single Harry Potter film or read a single Harry Potter book.'"
"The audience then reportedly gasped, to which he replied, ‘and you can suck my balls!’”
Instead of the Harry Potter-related show they had expected, she says Sponatenous Potter was simply a group of four people doing an improvised comedy set with "no bearing" on the boy wizard or the JK Rowling stories themselves.
Victoria says she and her boyfriend decided to leave the performance early, as it "wasn’t anything to do with Harry Potter" and was not "what I paid £20 each for a ticket for".
She said she believed that many of the other attendees had also been left confused by the show.
Victoria told the paper that she had since written to venue operator Wiltshire Creative asking for a refund on her ticket, but had not yet received a reply.
One promotional poster for Spontaneous Potter - which has been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe - shows four people in Potter-style wizard costumes, and describes the show as an "unofficial improvised parody".
A description on the Salisbury Arts Centre website, which has been deleted since the performance took place, meanwhile reads: "Grab your wands, don your house robes, and apparate yourselves to the Box Office!"
"A very magical improv show awaits...
"The smash hit Spontaneous Potter is an entirely improvised wizarding comedy play, based on an audience suggestion of a fanfiction title. Hilarity ensues as an entirely new Potter adventure is magically improvised on the spot - with live musical accompaniment!"
The Spontaneous Players said in a comment: "We have performed Spontaneous Potter: The Unofficial Improvised Parody over 500 times to over 100,000 people across the UK, and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for seven years now.
"We’ve headlined improv festivals, achieved a slew of five-star reviews, and won a Scottish Comedy Award for the show. It is a critically-acclaimed, unofficial Potter parody show.
"It has always been clearly labelled as a 16+ parody show, which contains adult language. This is evident from reading the marketing blurb on our website, and on all third-party sites. The 16+ age rating and adult language warning is made clear to all customers when purchasing tickets.
"We also offer a family-friendly children’s version of the show, for ages 5+.'
Wiltshire Creative have been approached for comment.
