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A theatre boss has hit out at abusive customers, while a second venue has urged audiences not to sing along during shows.

Colin Marr said he is “disgusted and angry” with unacceptable behaviour aimed at his team in recent weeks.

He claimed one staff member was punched two weeks ago and just this week another was pushed and spat on.

‘This is not acceptable’

The theatre director at Edinburgh Playhouse declared “enough is enough”.

In a statement posted online, he added: “This is becoming far too regular an occurrence – not just in our theatre but in venues across the UK.

“There is a very small minority of people who come to our theatre and choose to sing, dance and talk throughout the show in a manner that disturbs others.

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“They either don’t know, or don’t care, how much this spoils their fellow audience members’ experience.

“When one of my team asks them politely to stop they become verbally abusive and, in some cases, physical. This is not acceptable.”

The statement comes after a 51-year-old man and 54-year-old woman were arrested and charged in connection with an alleged disturbance during a performance of Jersey Boys at the venue on 28 January.

Police Scotland said a report would be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.

The King’s Theatre in Glasgow issued a similar appeal during a recent run of The Bodyguard, which features the hit songs of Whitney Houston, with venue bosses urging audiences not to sing along during the show.

The theatre stated anti-social behaviour towards staff and other customers would “not be tolerated”.

A spokesperson said: “We politely ask that you show consideration to your fellow audience members, who have come to enjoy the performances on stage.

“We all have a part to play in making sure the theatre is a fantastic experience for everyone and you can help by ensuring the professionals on stage are the only people entertaining us with their performances.”

‘It was a good atmosphere’

Theatre-goer Claire Roberts, who went along to one of The Bodyguard shows in Glasgow, told Sky News that a few people were singing during I Will Always Love You, but overall the audience was “great”.

She added: “It was a good atmosphere. It was mentioned by a few about the statement on behaviour but nobody seemed offended by it.

“There were still a few whistles and heckles at points. But there was also a part where they encouraged people to get up.”

‘You will be asked to leave’

The Bodyguard, starring Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton as Rachel Marron and soap star Ayden Callaghan as Frank Farmer, begins a six-day run at the Edinburgh Playhouse later this month.

Mr Marr asked all those attending the venue’s shows to be “considerate” towards the other audience members and staff so everyone “can all enjoy the wonderful entertainment on the stage”.

He added: “Please be in no doubt that if you are abusive towards our staff you will be asked to leave, and if you are threatening, intimidating or physically abusive we will call the police and you will be banned from our theatre and all ATG venues.”

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Lauren Laverne given ‘all clear’ following cancer diagnosis

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Lauren Laverne given 'all clear' following cancer diagnosis

BBC presenter Lauren Laverne has said she has been given the “all clear” after being diagnosed with cancer.

The 46-year-old said in a post on social media that she will return to work next week on The One Show and has been working on new episodes of BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.

She said she is set to also return to her 6 Music show in the new year.

Laverne announced she was undergoing cancer treatment back in August after a screening test caught the disease “early and unexpectedly”.

She has not specified what type of cancer she had.

Thanking medical staff, friends and all those who sent her get well wishes, Laverne said on Sunday she would most like to thank her husband Graeme and her two children, who she said have been “absolutely extraordinary throughout”.

“It’s been a difficult time but one that has taught me so much about what really matters,” she wrote.

“I can’t say I suddenly regretted never having hiked the Inca Trail, more that I now see more beauty in ordinary things than I could have imagined, and feel more than ever that the small things in life – the connections we make and care we take with each other – are the big things really.”

A new episode of Desert Island Discs is due to air on 1 December, and will be a pre-recorded interview with comedian Mark Steel that is believed to have been done by Laverne before she went on leave.

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She will return to record more episodes as well as Christmas editions of the series over the next few weeks.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “We’re delighted to welcome Lauren back to the studio this month for The One Show and Desert Island Discs, with new episodes airing on Radio 4 from 1 December, and we look forward to welcoming Lauren back to BBC Radio 6 Music in the new year.”

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‘Love you bro’: Zayn Malik’s tribute to Liam Payne at first show since former bandmate’s death

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'Love you bro': Zayn Malik's tribute to Liam Payne at first show since former bandmate's death

Zayn Malik paid tribute to former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne as he kicked off his solo tour.

Payne died last month of multiple traumas and “internal and external haemorrhage” after falling from a third-floor balcony in Buenos Aires, according to a post-mortem.

Images from Leeds’s O2 Academy on Saturday showed Malik – who delayed his Stairway To The Sky tour due to Payne’s funeral on Wednesday – shared a tribute.

A message was displayed with a heart on a large blue screen behind the singer reading: “Liam Payne 1993-2024. Love you bro.”

The 31-year-old also previously postponed the US leg of the tour after the “heartbreaking loss”.

He later rescheduled the Edinburgh shows, which had been planned for 20 and 21 November, to December due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

Following Payne’s death, Malik said he “never got to thank” him for his support during some of the “most difficult” times.

“I will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever,” he said in a post on Instagram.

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Malik rose to fame in 2010 when Simon Cowell teamed him up with Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan on talent show The X Factor.

Malik left the band in 2015 and all members went on to pursue their own solo careers.

An investigation has been launched into Payne’s death by prosecutors and three people have been charged in connection with the incident.

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Kanye West accused of sexual assault on set of music video in new lawsuit

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Kanye West accused of sexual assault on set of music video in new lawsuit

Rapper Ye – formerly known as Kanye West – has been accused of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit that alleges he strangled a model on the set of a music video.

Warning: This story contains details that readers may find distressing

The lawsuit alleges the musician shoved his fingers in the claimant’s mouth at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City in 2010, in what it refers to as “pornographic gagging”, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reported.

The model who brought the case – which was filed on Friday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York – was a background actor for another musician’s music video that Ye was guest-starring in, NBC said, citing the lawsuit.

She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages against the 47-year-old.

A representative for Ye was approached for comment by NBC News on Saturday.

The New York City Police Department said it took “sexual assault and rape cases extremely seriously, and urges anyone who has been a victim to file a police report so we can perform a comprehensive investigation, and offer support and services to survivors”.

The lawsuit alleges that a few hours into the shoot, the rapper arrived on set, took over control and ordered “female background actors/models, including the claimant, to line up in the hallway”.

The rapper is then believed to have “evaluated their appearances, pointed to two of the women, and then commanded them to follow him”.

The lawsuit adds the claimant, who was said to be wearing “revealing lingerie”, was uncomfortable but went with Ye to a suite which had a sofa and a camera.

When in the room, Ye is said to have ordered the production team to start playing the music, to which he did not know his lyrics and instead rambled, “rawr, rawr, rawr”.

The lawsuit claims: “Defendant West then pulled two chairs near the camera, positioned them across from each other, and instructed the claimant to sit in the chair in front of the camera.”

While stood over the model, the lawsuit clams Ye strangled her with both hands, according to NBC.

It claims he went on to “emulate forced oral sex” with his hands, with the rapper allegedly screaming: “This is art. This is f****** art. I am like Picasso.”

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Universal Music Group is also named in the lawsuit as a defendant and is accused of failing to investigate the incident.

The corporation did not immediately respond to a request for comment by NBC.

Jesse S Weinstein, a lawyer representing the claimant, said the woman “displayed great courage to speak out against some of the most powerful men and entities within the entertainment industry”.

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