Comedian Munya Chawawa has said he witnessed more racism, xenophobia and homophobia during a six-week theatre run in Chichester than he had experienced in his 'entire life'. The 33-year-old shared a series of posts on Instagram after his run in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Chichester Festival Theatre ended this week.
'For some of us, Chichester was a real struggle,' he wrote. 'I don't know if I have witnessed and or experienced as much racism, xenophobia and homophobia as I saw in those six weeks. I think I saw more in those six weeks than I have actually seen across my entire lifetime.'
Alleged attack on cast member
Chawawa also said that an alleged homophobic attack on a fellow cast member, which led to a performance being cancelled earlier this month, was just 'the tip of the iceberg'. Sussex Police said it was treating the incident as a hate crime after a cast member was allegedly verbally abused and chased through Chichester city centre, The Argus reports. A teenage boy was later arrested as part of the investigation.
Chichester Festival Theatre said it was 'deeply shocked' by the alleged incident, describing it as 'an appallingly abusive attack'.
Wider reports of abuse
Chawawa said he had also heard reports of cast members and theatre visitors being racially abused in the streets, while friends who attended the show were allegedly followed and subjected to hostile remarks. Describing racist abuse he also witnessed during a recent night out in Brighton, he wrote: 'It was just utterly abysmal. This 24-7 pipeline of hatred into people's eyes and ears has actually changed people in the street.'
Chichester District Council said it was 'deeply saddened' by the experiences Chawawa described. The council said it was committed to promoting equality and inclusion and working with local organisations and residents to ensure everyone felt safe and respected.
Support and response
Despite the upsetting experiences, Chawawa said he had received hundreds of messages of support since speaking out, including from local people who expressed their 'sadness and shock' at the alleged behaviour. 'It's clear a huge swathe of people aren't comfortable nor content with a new culture of hatred in their home,' he continued. 'If that is so, I reiterate: we owe it to ourselves to challenge it… At the very least: we can offer a smile instead of a stare.'
The comedian, who played Nick Bottom in the production, said he was unsure whether he would return to Chichester for work, but hoped he would. 'I get to see the place everyone has described so fondly to me in their messages,' he wrote. 'Let the work start now!'
The production, directed by Justin Audibert and Hannah Joss, reimagined Shakespeare's comedy against the backdrop of a 1990s woodland rave.
