Theatre director apologises for ‘inappropriate’ lewd comments made to staff members
AN INFLUENTIAL British theatre director has reportedly been removed from his post amid allegations of inappropriate sexual comments to staff.
Max Stafford-clark, former artistic director of London’s Royal Court theatre, allegedly asked staff members about losing their virginity.
One staff member claimed Staffordclark told her he was “like a virgin again” since he had suffered a stroke.
Stafford-clark was artistic director of the Royal Court for 14 years until he left to set up Out of Joint, his theatre company. He was forced to leave Out of Joint after a formal complaint regarding his behaviour, the Guardian reported. Gina Abolins, 29, who runs the company’s education programme, claimed the director told her: “Back in the day, I’d have been up you like a rat up a drainpipe but now I’m a reformed character. My disability means I’m practically a virgin again.”
She said she made a complaint after a number of incidents, including Stafford-clark asking her to try on a bikini and encouraging her to have casual sex which she could tell him about. She said she was shocked and embarrassed by the comments and made to feel that he had “got away with it”.
In a statement, Stafford-clark, 76, said he “wholeheartedly” apologised for “any inappropriate behaviour that made some former colleagues feel uncomfortable”, adding that it was never his intention to bully or harass.