Laurence Fox on theatre heckler: ‘I wish someone had removed him rather than me ranting’

Dramatic: Laurence Fox on shutting down a theatre heckler
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images For The BFI
Jennifer Ruby10 March 2016
The Weekender

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Laurence Fox has spoken out about how he stopped mid-performance of new play The Patriotic Traitor to ‘rant’ at a heckler.

While the actor didn’t apologise for breaking character to call the theatre-goer a ‘c**t’, he says wishes that it had been handled differently.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today Programme, Fox said: “If someone is hell-bent on heckling, they are ruining it for everybody.

“It becomes an unperformable play - the play stops at that moment."

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He continued: “It would have been lovely if someone had removed him, rather than me ranting at him.”

The 37-year-old went on to say that he had spoken to his father James Fox following the outburst, who advised him to prepare a speech to read to the audience if he was heckled again.

He added that Wednesday night’s audience had seemed “very nervous” after the dramatic performance the previous evening.

During Tuesday’s show, Fox stunned theatregoers by launching into a four-letter rant.

The actor, playing Charles de Gaulle in The Patriotic Traitor, changed his final speech to attack a man sitting in the front row who had apparently barracked him.

Fox was heard to say: “I won’t bother telling you the story because this c*** in the front row has ruined it for everybody”.

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