I went to a theatre show a few months ago with my 16 y/o dd. We were sitting in the front row, having a great time. At the break I went out to get a programme and got a pack of m and m's as well. There was a bit of a queue so we started eating them, then play came back on. DD ate another sweet and the guy sitting next to her started tutting and asked her to stop eating. A man who was sitting next to me had tutted earlier when I moved my bag under my chair. Anyway, I told her to just have another sweet and the packet rustled. At this point I guess she should have stopped eating them - the play had just started up again. Anyway, she put her hand in to have another one - slowly but the bag still rustled and the guy just grabbed the pack out of her hands and shouted something that ended with him calling her an ignorant C word. I was so shocked and everything was then so quiet. The play was back on. I didn't know what to do. We were in the front row and I didn't want to get up and cause a disturbance. When the music came on, I leaned over to the man and said ' you cant physically touch someone like that you know?'. He just ignored it. I couldn't really concentrate, but I am so ashamed that I didn't shout at him more or do anything for frightening my dd like that. Part of me thought I should have told her to stop eating the sweets so it was all our fault but after the show he had a go at us again - we did argue back but he walked off. My dd is really petite and about 5ft 3. He was a big guy maybe in his 50s. A couple came over after and asked her was she ok and said they were outraged at what he did. One of them worked at the theatre. They said he seemed unhinged and I said maybe she shouldn't have eaten the sweets as it disturbed him and they said that they hadn't heard anything and he had no excuse to do that to a young girl. Well I was so mad at myself for letting my daughter down. Although I did say something to the man, I should have really laid into him and complained at that time. We went with the couple to complain to the manager, and she said she would email us the next day which she did. She apologised and said they couldn't do anything as the incident had finished and I emailed back saying would they be able to find out who the man was and that as a mum, I just felt like why should this guy get away with it because I was too soft to do anything at the time and he is going around thinking its ok to treat people like that. Naturally they would not be able to give us his details, but I was thinking doesn't that amount to some kind of assault? I think I have just been thinking about it a lot now as I was telling a friend of mine about it, when she was talking about another incident and she sounded shocked by it and I just thought why the heck didn't I just really have a go at him like most parents would have done? Even if I thought my daughter eating the sweets might have disturbed him (which I told her to finish them, another thing that I am mad at myself for), when he ignored me when I told him not to physically touch her, I should have just got off my seat and complained or shouted at him and stuff the disturbance it made to the play. I can't do anything now, but you know yesterday I was just thinking - can't I report this incident to the police as was it an assault? The couple who stopped to talk to us thought he was completely out of order, especially given my daughter's age and came with us to talk to the manager. I just would love to see this guy's face when he is thinking what he did was ok. Or am I being silly? I know I just want to make up for not standing up enough for my DD and I have said to her that I am sorry I let her down then. She is fine. I don't know - I think I just wanted to come on here and talk to other parents. Sorry for the long post - my first!