A THEATRE boss has claimed his venue has been "vilified" on social media after a story about a disabled man being forced to leave a show by an audience member went viral.

Previously we reported that Harry Boniface, 25, was attending a matinee performance of Into the Woods at The Swan Theatre on The Moors, Worcester, on April 21, in which his dad Martin Boniface was appearing.

But Harry and his support worker left the theatre after being confronted several times by a female audience member who said his “noises were disrespectful and putting off the performers”.

Chris Jaeger, chief executive of Worcester Live, the company behind the theatre, said since the story appeared in the national press the theatre has been attacked on social media.

He said: "The incident was covered fully and fairly by the Worcester News through a prominent letter from the boy’s father and a front-page story and detailed follow-up inside.

"Harry communicates through a combination of signing and noises and those noises, in this case of enjoyment and appreciation, were disturbing a lady in the row in front of him.

"The theatre staff were completely unaware of the incident, as were some of the people in the same rows, which was a pity, because if either party had made contact with the house manager or any of the staff, we could have discreetly moved one of the parties to other seats to relieve the tension.

"As it happens, the young man and his carer left, which was a shameful and disturbing outcome.

"The father in his letter made it absolutely clear that the theatre was not to blame."

He added that national papers had wrongly said the theatre had asked Harry to leave.

He said: "We have been vilified on social media ever since, despite another attempt by the boy’s father to clear our name. "

He said that he hoped the publicity will encourage “tolerance”.

He added: "It’s a tough and unfair life sometimes but let’s hope that the publicity will help the cause for more tolerance of everybody who comes to the theatre.

"At the Swan Theatre, we are working hard at being as inclusive as we possibly can, and measures include extra staff training, signed, audio descriptive and relaxed performances. We have special relationships with many local disability and special needs groups and everybody is always welcome at any of our three venues at any time."