Police called as fight breaks out after heckler disrupts comedy gig

Yahoo

01-04-2025

Police were called to a comedy show in Essex after a fight broke out in response to a heckler.
A man was reportedly assaulted following the brawl after Paul Chowdhry's Englandia Tour performance finished on Saturday.
A video posted by Chowdhry on Instagram showed part of the scuffle, in which several audience members could be seen arguing in the stalls of the Cliffs Pavillion on Station Road in Westcliff-on-Sea, Southend.
'Big fight is broken out after the show. It's properly kicked off out here this evening,' he said.
'There was some riots here and now some people are probably kicking off tonight.'
Aiming the camera at one woman dressed in black, looking frustrated and pointing in multiple directions, he said: 'She's kicking off.'
Some audience members attempted to intervene and calm others down.
'I want to keep out of harm's way because I might get jumped,' Chowdhry said during the video.
Responding to the incident, a spokesperson from Trafalgar Entertainment, operators of the Cliffs Pavilion, said they were aware of the incident.
'A small number of customers expressed their frustration towards another customer who had been heckling the act throughout the evening,' they said in a statement.
'Our team responded swiftly to defuse the situation,' they added.
'We take the safety of our audiences, staff and performers very seriously and condemn acts of violence and discrimination in the strongest possible terms.
'We will not hesitate to take action, including liaising with the police, should this be deemed necessary.
'We would like to remind all our customers to be respectful to each other, to performers and to our staff at future events.'
Essex police were called to the disturbance at about 9.35pm that evening.
An Essex Police spokesperson said: 'It was reported a fight had broken out and a man was assaulted.
'No serious injuries were reported, officers attended and inquiries are ongoing.'