Soho Theatre has issued a statement following a performance by comedian Paul Currie on Saturday, February 10.

The venue said: "We are sorry and saddened by an incident that took place at our venue at the end of a performance of Paul Currie: Shtoom on Saturday 10 February which has caused upset and hurt to members of audience attending and others. We take this very seriously and are looking into the detail of what happened as thoroughly, as sensitively, and as quickly as we can. It is important to us that Soho Theatre is a welcoming and inclusive place for all."

According to a witness who gave a statement to the Campaign Against Anti Semitism Currie put a Ukrainian and Palestinian flag onstage and asked fans to stand up and applaud: “When we all sat down again, (Currie) looked towards a young man sitting in the second row and said: ‘You didn’t stand, why? Didn’t you enjoy my show?’

The young man, who we discovered soon after was Israeli, replied: ‘I enjoyed your show until you brought out the Palestinian Authority flag.’"

The audience member claimed Currie said to the man: “Get out of my show. Get the fuck out of here. Fuck off, get the fuck out of here.”

Other members of the audience allegedly joined in, shouting “Get out” and “Free Palestine” until the young man left, said the witness.

The witness also left and said: “It felt like we were welcome in the theatre as long as our identities (as) Jews weren’t known, and the minute our identities were known, we felt threatened.” 

There has been a call on social media to cancel Currie's upcoming gig at the Stand in Glasgow. Currie, who grew up in Belfast, is an acclaimed absurdist comedian. His 2022 Edinburgh Fringe show was entitled The Chorus of Ghosts Living in My Skull Keep Telling Me to Take a Shit in the Fruit Salad. Read a review here.

At the time of writing Currie has not commented.