Munya Chawawa has described racism, xenophobia and homophobia during his time performing in Chichester, saying an attack that forced the cancellation of a show was ’just the tip of the iceberg’.

The comedian and satirist, who played Bottom in Chichester Festival Theatre’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, shared his reflections in an Instagram video on Monday, October 19, after the production’s run ended.

Chawawa thanked audiences for supporting his theatrical debut but said the experience away from the stage had been difficult.

“What an incredible privilege to just be able to do a play and also just to be so supported whilst doing it,” he said.

But he added: “For some of us, Chichester was a real struggle. 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, which is just an insane concept.”

Referring to the incident that led to the cancellation of the October 13 evening performance, he said: “Some of you heard we had to cancel a show because one of our cast members was attacked just before the show. That is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Chawawa said he and others initially tried to find humour in their experiences as a possible coping mechanism, describing being stared at and watched in the street.

Chawawa said students from the BRIT School who came to watch the production were racially abused by someone in a passing car.

He described a separate incident in which a boy on a bicycle called another visitor the N-word.

Another group of friends who came to see the show were followed to their hotel by a group of men and women chanting ‘dirty’ at them, he said.

Chawawa also described a night out in Brighton intended, he said, ‘to ironically escape these experiences’. There, he said, a mixed group of friends were confronted by men calling them ’migrants’.

He added that he had been on a train where boys within earshot were joking about using the N-word.

“It was just utterly abysmal,” he said.

Reflecting on what he had witnessed, Chawawa argued that a constant stream of hateful messages was influencing behaviour.

“My first thought was, it’s worked. You know, this 24-7 pipeline of hatred into people’s eyes and ears has actually changed people in the street,” he said.

“And, you know, this hatred, it’s like a cancer. It spreads because people will always say, ‘Oh, it’s just the illegals.’ It’s not.

“From what I experienced, it was anyone who was remotely different, different creed, different colour, different sexuality.”

He added: “If that is a preview of what is to come, where a group of school kids can’t even walk ten minutes down the street without being racially abused, it’s bleak.”

The evening performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Tuesday, October 13, was cancelled at the last minute, with audience members already seated when artistic director Justin Audibert announced that the show could not go ahead.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, October 14, Chichester Festival Theatre said it was ‘deeply shocked’ that a company member had been the victim of an ‘appallingly abusive attack’, during which they were ’aggressively hounded and physically pursued’ through the city centre.

The theatre said the actor was not physically injured, but the victim, company and staff were extremely shaken. It announced that performances would resume that day and that ticket holders would be contacted about return visits or refunds.

Police said the incident took place at about 6pm on October 13 near Little London car park, behind East Street. A man in his 20s was reportedly followed and verbally abused by a group of young men on bicycles.

Sussex Police were treating the incident as a homophobic hate crime.

A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested on suspicion of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, as well as on suspicion of shop theft.

He was issued with a Community Protection Warning and released on bail pending further enquiries.

Chichester Pride expressed support for the victim, his colleagues and the wider LGBTQ+ community.

“We are appalled that a member of the A Midsummer Night’s Dream cast at Chichester Festival Theatre has been subjected to an attack which Sussex Police have confirmed they are treating as a homophobic hate crime,” it said.

“Our thoughts are with the person affected, their colleagues and everyone at Chichester Festival Theatre, as well as members of our wider LGBTQ+ community who may be feeling distressed or unsettled by what has happened.

“Nobody should have to experience intimidation, harassment or violence because of who they are, or who others perceive them to be.”

The group said the incident’s timing, during National Hate Crime Awareness Week, was ’a sobering reminder’ of the prejudice and hostility LGBTQ+ people continued to face, including locally.

“For LGBTQ+ people, feeling safe is about more than the absence of violence. It means being able to hold hands, express who we are and go about our everyday lives without fear of abuse or hostility,” it said.

“We all have a part to play in creating a community where everyone feels safe, respected and welcome. That means standing alongside those targeted by hate, challenging prejudice and refusing to allow discrimination to go unchallenged.

“There is no place for homophobia or any other form of discrimination or hate in Chichester.”

Responding to Chawawa’s video, councillor Izabela Mayne, who represents The Witterings on West Sussex County Council, said his account made her ‘incredibly sad’.

“To hear Munya Chawawa speak about the homophobia, racism and xenophobia that he and his fellow cast members have experienced during their time in Chichester is genuinely heartbreaking,” she wrote on Facebook.

She praised the theatre for attracting performers of ‘extraordinary talent’ and said it was deeply upsetting to hear of prejudice alongside the performances they had given local audiences.

“I know there are so many kind, welcoming and compassionate people in Chichester, but that doesn’t make these experiences any less real or painful,” she said.

“Nobody should ever be made to feel unwelcome because of who they are, where they come from or whom they love.”

She added: “I wish Munya and his fellow cast members had experienced the warmth and kindness that I know our community is capable of. Above all, I hope we listen to what he is saying, because we cannot change what we are unwilling to acknowledge.”

Despite his anger, Chawawa said a conversation with a Romanian taxi driver on his journey home had helped him see reasons for hope.

He described the driver as a Portsmouth resident who drove at night and worked as a mental health nurse during the day.

According to Chawawa, the driver said he wanted to believe most people were good, including patients who could no longer speak or respond to him, and hoped they would care for him in the same way. He would continue treating them regardless.

Chawawa described that outlook as ‘more valiant than I could ever be’, adding: “I just felt angry in that moment.”

But he said the conversation had left him thinking that ’maybe there is more good than bad’.

“If that is the case, we just really need to make it known that we are here,” he said.

“We’ve got to call this stuff out. You know, we’ve got to be proactive.”

He urged people to make their voices heard, hold those in power accountable and take part in elections.

Referring to the saying about evil prevailing when good people do nothing, he added: “That is really true. And I really, really hope that we take that to heart.”

Anyone with information about the October 13 incident can contact Sussex Police online or call 101, quoting reference 47260238010.