The Stage

Chit chat: An unwelcome pizza the action

Published Tuesday 5 January 2010 at 11:30 by Tabard

On the bright side, though, at least no physical violence was meted out on the unfortunate chap.

The same, Tabard is afraid, can’t be said of Gary Williams - the poor performer who found himself under fire during a recent gig at London’s Pizza on the Park.

Williams - who is probably best known for appearances in the West End in The Rat Pack Live from Las Vegas - was in the middle of singing The Silly Slang Song when he was struck on the shin by a salt mill which had seemingly been flung by an audience member.

Assuming the a-salt (apologies) was some kind of bizarre accident (perhaps someone throwing salt over their shoulder for good luck?), Williams persisted, before being struck again - this time in the stomach - during his encore. House lights were raised and the offender made himself known, claiming he had been insulted by the song because it was homophobic. Williams - openly gay himself - proceeded to introduce his long-time partner on stage, provoking an apology of sorts from the man, who soon scarpered.

“The guy must have been out of his mind,” said Williams. “If one of the mills had hit someone in the head, it could have caused serious injury or worse. In all my years of performing, I’ve never experienced anything like it - even at the rowdiest corporate events.”