Comedian and actor Munya Chawawa has spoken out about what he described as “abysmal” levels of racism, xenophobia and homophobia experienced by cast members during the run of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Chichester Festival Theatre.
The social media star, who made his stage acting debut as Bottom in the production, said an alleged homophobic attack on a cast member that forced the cancellation of a performance earlier this month was “just the tip of the iceberg”.
In a video shared on social media following the show's closure, Chawawa reflected on his six weeks in Chichester, saying the experience off-stage had been deeply troubling for some members of the company.
“For some of us, Chichester was a real struggle,” he said. “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.”
The comments come days after a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was cancelled after a cast member was allegedly subjected to homophobic abuse and pursued through Chichester city centre. Sussex Police said it was treating the incident as a hate crime.
According to Chawawa, the incident was one of several examples of prejudice experienced by cast members and visitors connected to the production. He alleged that students visiting from the BRIT School were subjected to racist abuse, while friends attending the show were allegedly followed and targeted with hostile comments.
Graham Robson
The performer also described an incident during a night out in Brighton, where, he said, a mixed-race group of friends were confronted by people calling them “migrants”.
“It was just utterly abysmal,” he said.
Reflecting on the experiences, Chawawa argued that increasingly hostile rhetoric towards minority communities was having a real-world impact.
“My first thought was, it's worked,” he said. “This 24-7 pipeline of hatred into people's eyes and ears has actually changed people in the street.”
Earlier this month, Chichester Festival Theatre said it was “deeply shocked” by the alleged attack on a company member and described the incident as an “appallingly abusive attack”. The venue said the actor had been “aggressively hounded and physically pursued through the centre of Chichester”.
Sussex Police later confirmed that a teenage boy had been arrested as part of its investigation.
The incident prompted condemnation from local LGBTQ+ organisations, with Chichester Pride saying there was “no place for homophobia or any other form of discrimination or hate in Chichester”.
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