Maureen Lipman forced to hire security guards for theatre tour after being targeted by pro-Palestine protests

“Online they’ve circulated a version of the show’s poster which has been doctored to give me horns and a pitchfork. That dopey old trope again.”

A poster from the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign depicting Maureen Lipman with devil horns and a pitchfork (SPSC)[Missing Credit]

The depiction of Lipman as the devil was condemned at the time by Andrew Bowie, the shadow Scotland secretary and Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, who called it “utterly abhorrent”.

Likewise, Rosie Kay, co-founder of Freedom in the Arts, a project to tackle the culture of fear and intimidation artists are facing for expressing their legal views, said: “Maureen Lipman is currently the target of a campaign of personal vilification and antisemitic abuse intended to secure her cancellation. For those committed to dismantling racism, it must be stated with absolute clarity that such tactics have no place within our cultural life.

"This campaign of intimidation is an attempt to force a lawful production off the stage through organised pressure.”

Nonetheless, Lipman remained upbeat about the tour, even with the security restrictions.

“Mark, my security man, protects me [at the show] and even brings me a flat white and a flapjack when I can’t exit via the stage door,” she wrote.

“Meanwhile, the kidnapped Ukrainian children remain brainwashed in Russia, their parents are scatter bombed nightly, and 35,000 Iranian kids are slaughtered, but nobody marches against these actual genocides. No Jews, no news.

“Bigots instead want to boycott a British actress in a non-political play.”

The production had its final showing in Aberdeen on May 30 and is now embarking on a national tour for the rest of the year.