Jump to full article: The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday (uk), 2009-10-24
Author: Daily Mail Reporter
Intro: An open air theatre group has cancelled its shows in Tunbridge Wells after groups of drunks hurled a 'barrage of abuse' at the actors - saying they 'looked gay' in Shakespeare garb.
The Pantiles Players, which were set up to provide entertainment to people during World War Two, decided to pull out of the open air gigs this week after boozers shouted and swore during the performances of Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona.
Robert Chesterton, chairman of the group, said: 'Thirty years ago this was a very quiet place.
. . .
'This year the noise from the bars was intolerable - actors were subject to appalling abuse and so we have reluctantly decided we can no longer mount productions on the Pantiles bandstand.'
The Pantiles, an up-market parade of shops built in the 1680s, is host to a number of bars - where many stand outside since the smoking ban.
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