The Bodyguard: Police called to Manchester Palace Theatre after audience ‘riot’ ends show early

‘I thank everyone who was respectful of the performers and [feel] very, very sorry for those who weren’t,’ said show’s star Melody Thornton

Cast members of The Bodyguard have called out “disgusting” audience behaviour after a “riot” reportedly broke out among audience members.

The musical production, which is based on Whitney Houston’s 1992 film, is currently touring across the UK and Ireland starring Pussycat Dolls singer Melody Thornton.

However, during Friday (7 March) night’s show at Manchester’s Palace Theatre, the production came to a halt 10 minutes from the end due to alleged “disruptive” and “disgusting” audience behaviour.

On social media, audience members shared photos of police riot vans outside the venue after the show.

“Cannot believe what I’ve just witnessed at the Palace Theatre watching The Bodyguard,” one Twitter user wrote.

“A mini riot after the show was stopped because audience members were trying to sing over the cast. Police riot vans been called in. Chaos.”

“Went to The Palace Theatre in Manchester to watch The Bodyguard and a bunch of entitled pr***s starting singing over the lead during the final song. A riot broke out, the show was cancelled and the police were called,” another ticket holder commented.

A clip published by the Manchester Evening News showed a woman being dragged out of the theatre.

A spokesperson for the Palace Theatre told The Independent: “The performance of The Bodyguard at The Palace Theatre, Manchester was stopped at 9.40pm last night and not continued. We are disappointed that the last 10 minutes of the show needed to be cancelled due to disruptive customers refusing to stay seated and spoiling the performance for others.

“We are grateful to our venue teams for dealing with these difficult circumstances in a professional and calm way, and to Greater Manchester police for their assistance. Future performances will continue as planned and we ask that customers are considerate towards the cast, fellow audience members and theatre team so that everyone can enjoy the wonderful entertainment on stage.”

In a video shared on her Instagram Story, Thornton shared a message with audience members at the show.

“I wanted to send a really special message to people in Manchester who came to the show tonight, to say thank you so much,” she said. “I respect that you paid your money and I am so grateful to everyone who respects the people on stage who want to give you a beautiful show.

“For everything that happened tonight, I can’t say, I don’t have all of the details. I just am very, very sorry that we couldn’t finish the show. I fought really hard. It feels awful and I just hope that we see you again… I thank everyone who was respectful of the performers and [feel] very, very sorry for those who weren’t.”

The show’s male lead Ayden Callaghan, who plays Kevin Costner’s role of Frank Farmer, tweeted: “Theatre pulled the show at the end tonight because of disgusting behaviour.

“We wanted to carry on but it had become a major incident. I’m really sorry to what was 99.9 per cent a brilliant audience that a few badly behaved individuals ruined it.”

Earlier in the run of The Bodyguard tour, the King’s Theatre in Glasgow shared a message on social media asking audiences to “be kind” and “show consideration” when watching the show.

“We politely ask that you show consideration to your fellow audience members, who have come to enjoy performances on stage,” they wrote. “Anti-social behaviour towards our staff or other customers will not be tolerated.”

According to reports, audience members at previous performances of the musical had been trying to “out-sing” the cast from their seats during numbers such as “I Will Always Love You”.