'Bodyguard' musical halted, disrupted by Manchester audience

‘The Bodyguard’ is not a singalong: Show stopped abruptly after audience disruption

April 10, 2023 11:33 AM PT

A performance of “The Bodyguard” was cut short this weekend in Manchester, England, after audience members disrupted the show by singing along loudly to “I Will Always Love You.”

The truncated performance took place Saturday at the Palace Theatre and Opera House, which released a statement saying that “the last 10 minutes of the show needed to be cancelled due to disruptive customers refusing to stay seated and spoiling the performance for others.”

In video footage of the incident captured and shared by theatergoer Karl Bradley, at least one audience member can be heard shouting the lyrics to “I Will Always Love You” over the singing of “Bodyguard” star Melody Thornton. Another clip shows security guards removing two people from the balcony before police arrived on the scene.

“The Bodyguard” — a stage adaptation of the 1992 Whitney Houston film about a famous singer who falls in love with a former Secret Service agent — is currently on a tour of the United Kingdom that includes several shows at Manchester’s Palace Theatre and Opera House.

“We are grateful to our venue teams for dealing with these difficult circumstances in a professional and calm way, and to Greater Manchester police for their assistance,” the theater said in a statement.

“Future performances will continue as planned and we ask that customers are considerate towards the cast, fellow audience members and theatre team so that everyone can enjoy the wonderful entertainment onstage.”

After Saturday’s performance ended abruptly, Thornton apologized to audience members who didn’t get a chance to see the musical’s encore or closing number in its entirety.

“I wanted to send a really special message to people in Manchester who came to the show tonight to say thank you so much. I respect that you paid your money. And I am so grateful to everyone who respects the people onstage who want to give you a beautiful show,” the actor, singer and former Pussycat Dolls member said in a video message.

“For everything that happened tonight, I don’t ... have all of the details. I just am very, very sorry that we couldn’t finish the show. I fought really hard. It feels awful. And I just hope that we see you again. ... I thank everyone who was respectful of the performers, and I’m very, very sorry for those who weren’t.”

Manchester performances of “The Bodyguard” are scheduled to resume Monday evening and run through Saturday night.