Theatre-goers were scandalized after a man clad in head-to-toe latex was allowed to watch a production at Shakespeare’s Globe in London surrounded by children in May.
But the backlash has been much ado about nothing, the theatre might say.
According to the Globe’s recount, the incident took place during a matinee showing of the bard’s “A Comedy of Errors” when the man — who has yet to be identified — bought a ticket to stand in the legendary theater’s yard right in front of the stage.
Following the performance, one angry audience member complained that they were “shocked to see a man in a full latex gimp suit” and “even more shocked that he was allowed to stay in the theatre despite what he was wearing.”
The Post has reached out to the Globe for comment.
“Why was he allowed to stay in a venue that caters to the general public including children,” an infuriated visitor said, per the Telegraph’s Saturday report. “Even if a child doesn’t know what a latex suit is or the sexual connotations, it’s still a very scary sight and puts parents in a very uncomfortable position when it comes to explaining to their children what is going on.”
The irate theater-goer concluded their complaint by adding that they “found the whole thing extremely inappropriate and I wasn’t the only one — a lot of people were obviously uncomfortable with his presence.”
Staff at the venue responded by saying that “the outfit did not contain offensive or discriminatory slogans or wording” and thus “the decision was taken to permit the visitor to remain on site.”
“The very nature of the outfit was offensive,” the enraged viewer continued.
“It is sexual fetish-wear and sexual fetishes are not appropriate to act out in public,” she said.“Can you suggest any contexts other than a fetish in which someone would wear a latex bodysuit and latex face mask with a leather harness on top.”
“I really don’t understand how this didn’t violate some sort of policy considering the fact that the Globe isn’t just a theatre but an educational venue for children as well,” badgered the audience member.
The Telegraph reported that it took three weeks for The Globe to respond to the complaint, ultimately conceding to reevaluate their clothing policy.
An internal memo obtained by outlet shows that the manager was aware of the situation but jokingly stated: “Our only worry was the patron might’ve overheated.”
“Patron wearing a latex jumpsuit, including full face mask, had a yard ticket,” read the memo. “A few comments from staff, but [Front of House] erred on the side of caution and left the patron to enjoy the show. Our only worry was that the patron might’ve overheated! No further action required.”
A spokesperson for the theatre furthermore claimed that the incident was the first of its kind.
“This is the first time we have had someone come to watch a performance wearing a blue latex outfit,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We were aware of a couple of comments from staff at the time but are not aware of any formal complaints from staff.”
“We received one email from an audience member after the event, whose feedback has been considered for the future,” they continued. “Our focus is to ensure all audience members are safe and able to enjoy their time at the Globe. We have security staff present 24/7.”
