When drama students included a scene of simulated sex in a production of Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, some Cumbrian theatre-goers walked out.

Richard Foster, the manager at the The Old Laundry Theatre, in Bowness, has apologised to those offended by the scene involving two men.

He said: "We don't want people to be upset by things like that but we feel that in many ways it reflected the bawdy tone of Shakespeare's writing.”

About 10 people in an audience of more than 200 walked out and one elderly man caused concern when he is said to have "vaulted" over a barrier as he sought to get away quickly from the auditorium.

In a scene involving the twin characters Dromio of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse, one of the pair was shown guarding a door when the other, dressed as a woman, walked in and pulled down his underwear. They then went on to simulate sex. Those are two Dromios pictured above, but not from the Bowness production.

No genitals were on show, but buttocks were visible.

The performance by students from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (Lamda) also featured a male actor baring his behind while dressed as a clown.

The theatre manager has apologised for not putting up a sign warning of the explicit content.

He said: "We don't want people to come here and be upset by things like that but we feel that in many ways it reflected the bawdy tone of Shakespeare's writing.

"The whole play is bawdy basically, the two twin clowns spend an awful lot of their time doing lewd things which is a parallel of their masters who are being slightly more elevated."

He added: "Every one of (Shakespeare's plays) is bawdy, depending on the interpretation of the director some productions are more bawdy than others."

LAMDA is one of the leading drama schools in the English-speaking world and conducts the most eminent set of public examinations in speech and drama.

The institutions that combined to form LAMDA date from 1861, making the Academy the oldest of its kind in Britain, with a long-established reputation for excellence.

Providing training for, and examinations in, various musical disciplines was originally the dominant purpose of the institution. However, providing instruction in spoken English quickly became a core area of the Academy’s work.

In the 1880s, LAMDA began offering speech examinations to the public. Since then, these examinations have been refined and developed into a comprehensive system of performance evaluation. LAMDA Examinations has emerged as the largest Speech and Drama Board in the United Kingdom, with an international reputation.

The early twentieth century saw a profound change in how theatre was created and this necessitated a change in how actors were trained. What we now recognise as drama schools began to appear. LAMDA was perfectly placed for this revolution and began training theatre practitioners in earnest.

The past few years have witnessed important growth for the Academy . A vital move to a larger and more visible home on the Talgarth Road in West London has enabled LAMDA to further develop the campus and training facilities for its highly talented students.

Furthermore, in June 2004, the Academy became an affiliate of the prestigious Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, reinforcing its status.

Today the Academy is synonymous with professionally trained actors and theatre technicians. Scarcely a year goes by without LAMDA's former students being honoured at a major film, television or theatre award ceremony.

*Just as an example of what Comedy of Errors is about (not the Bowness performance we hasten to add) you can look on our video section at http://www.getnoticedonline.co.uk/videos/videodirectlink/The-Comedy-of-Errors-RSC-Musical-1976.html

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