THE British tour of Jerry Springer — The Opera could be cancelled because of threats from militant Christians.

Regional theatres last night told producers that they feared being targeted by an extreme evangelical group if they staged the show.

“It is endangering the UK tour,” a spokesman for the show said. “The venues are worried about being picketed by Christian Voice.”

Stephen Green, the leader of Christian Voice, told The Times that he planned to target theatres aggressively.

“The producers think there will be a UK tour, but we will see how it pans out,” Mr Green said. “We will be picketing theatres.”

A cancer charity has turned down a £3,000 donation from the show after Christian Voice threatened to picket its premises if it accepted “tainted” money from the “filthy and blasphemous” musical.

The group gained notoriety after it circulated the home addresses and telephone numbers of senior BBC figures when Jerry Springer — The Opera was screened on BBC Two last month. Some people on the list received calls threatening them with “bloodshed”.

Derby Assembly Rooms, a council-run theatre, is among those reconsidering whether to stage the show.

“If the BBC can’t cope with Christian Voice, then it is highly unlikely that we can,” a spokeswoman said. “It is dreadful what happened to the cancer charity. We had been hoping to have the show this autumn but that is not going to happen now.

“Hopefully we could do it some time next year, but it is all still up in the air. If there are more episodes like this, it will certainly affect the decision-making.”

The cancer charity Maggie’s Centres said that contact from Christian Voice had prompted it to decline a donation from a charity performance of the show. It was to have used the money to help to establish a nationwide network of units for cancer patients and their families.

It said in a statement: “As a result of contact from Christian Voice, Maggie’s has taken the decision not to accept the proceeds from a special performance of Jerry Springer — The Opera.”

Maggie’s Centres were the vision of Maggie Keswick Jencks, the landscape gardener who suffered from cancer.

Mr Green said that the charity had made a decision to “honour the Christian faith”. “They were in grave risk of alienating Christian donors, their staff and cancer patients,” he said. He admitted that Christian Voice had threatened to picket charity offices for accepting proceeds from “filth and blasphemy”, but said: “By refusing to accept this tainted money, Maggie’s Centres have set an example of ethical behaviour which is rare in Britain today.”

David Soul, the show’s star, accused the group of “strong-arm tactics” and blackmail.

Christian Voice mounted protests outside the Cambridge Theatre in London until the show closed last week after 609 performances. Some religious groups have criticised the opera for its use of expletives and the appearance of the characters Jesus and God as guests on Springer’s television show. Ticket sales went up after the protests began at the Cambridge Theatre.

The show opened at the National Theatre to rave reviews and won an Olivier award for Best Musical.

The cast had agreed to waive their wages for a charity special on February 18. “It was an act of goodwill to a charity which is doing great work around the UK,” said Mr Soul, the former Starsky and Hutch star who plays the title role in the musical. He said that he resented “mob-type tactics” being used against a cancer charity. The money will be given to another charity.

Other Christian groups last night distanced themselves from Christian Voice.

Reverend Sheila Maxey, moderator of the United Reformed Church, said that Christian Voice was “a disgrace” and not representative of the Christian community, which it was in danger of bringing into disrepute.

A spokesman for the Church of England said: “It is absolutely not what we would expect people in the Church of England to identify with as being a correct or kind way to behave towards others. People should be encouraged to show kindness and compassion to others and should not be in the business of stifling that.”

A play about rape and murder in a Sikh temple was dropped by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre on safety grounds after Sikh protesters clashed with police.

The play, Behzti, which means Dishonour, closed in December and Gupreet Kaur Bhatti, its 35-year-old Sikh writer, went into hiding after receiving death threats.

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