Panto bosses hit back after show was cancelled over 'crude and unacceptable content'

Bewdley and Beast 3, an adult pantomime run by the Bewdley Town Criers, was pulled from the air after just one show following a large number of complaints about the content of the show.

The show was supposed to run for three performances in Worcestershire, however, in a turn of events, it was cancelled by the Civic Stourport after its first night.

Now, the owners have taken to social media to hit back at the cancellation, saying that they feel that it is "grossly unfair" that the show was pulled and apologising for technical difficulties during the performance.

On Facebook, the group announced: "The decision was made today by the Civic Stourport not to allow our production to complete its final two performances.

"After receiving several emails of complaint, and reacting to social media posts, the Chair of the trustees made the decision to cancel the show, who then notified us by email.

"Thursday nights show experienced several technical issues relating to the sound, which we agree, affected the enjoyment of the production.

"The show was also late starting, due to not enough seats being put out. We apologise to everyone for issues that affected the smooth running of this show."

The show was plagued by a number of technical difficulties. However, the group also said the show was cancelled due to "crude and unacceptable content".

The group continued: "Other factors have also been mentioned as a reason for cancellation, such as 'crude and unacceptable content'.

"It [the cancellation email] has suggested that we frequently used the 'C' and 'F' words for cheap laughs. This is untrue.

"If you have seen our previous productions, you will know the nature of our scripts as being risqué, but never too vulgar, and very rarely, profanity. The panto opens with a girl singing a song which goes ' A count, count a country girl, living in my little world'. And, we have never used the 'F' word."

The group has said that it is unfair that the show was pulled with no prior conversation, going on to apologise for technical difficulties.

The group ended: "We feel it was grossly unfair that our show was pulled by the venue with no conversation, no phone calls or meetings to give us the opportunity to address any concerns. After months of planning, rehearsals and at a cost, we find ourselves regrettably in this position.

"Once again I apologise for the issues that affected Thursday's smooth running of the show. We take encouragement from the tremendous amount of positive comments and handshakes from the audience as they left the civic building, including the Mayor and Consort.

"Onwards and upwards, and maybe we will stage this much talked about and apparently 'too adult' adult panto elsewhere in the near future!"

Talking about the cancellation, The Civic said: "The Civic has taken the unusual and extraordinary step to cancel the remaining performances of Freddie Just presents "Bewdley and The Beast 3" later today.

"This is due to the unprecedented number of complaints and requests for refunds that we have received in the last 12 hours. We will be responding to each complaint individually, but it's going to take a while.

"We will be issuing FULL refunds to all ticket holders including those from last night's performance. These refunds will be administered by our online ticket provider Ticketsource over the coming days.

"The Civic are sorry for any inconvenience and upset this has caused."