According to the Oscar-winning actress, the drumming just slowly got louder and louder and then settled right outside the stage door. There was just a thin wall between drumming and the theater so it was unbelievably loud on stage.

The street drummers were playing as part of As One In The Park gay music festival. Recalls the festival organizer, Joe O'Leary:

"This little old lady came running out in a green dress, pearls and a tiara and headed for the conductor. She was saying, 'shut the fuck up, people have paid fuckking a hundred pounds for their theatre tickets'. She said the F-word about twenty times. She was proper on a rant."

The next day the 67-year-old acclaimed actress was in a forgiving mood, wearing a shirt that showed a drum and said 'yes please, just not outside'. Mirren also apologized to the drummers whom she yelled at:

"I felt rotten but on the other hand they were destroying our performance so something had to be done. They were absolute sweethearts and stopped the second I asked them. I'd love them to see the play and understand why I was upset. I felt terrible... they're fellow performers."