Raunchy performances involving simulated lesbian sex which took place during a recent event in Galway's municipally run Black Box Theatre will not be allowed to happen again, gardaí say.
The performances will also be investigated by the arts committee of Galway City Council,which is responsible for the venue,at "the earliest possible opportunity".
The controversy concerns events which occurred at Club Outstageous, a club offering onstage entertainment at the Black Box Theatre every two to three months.
Primarily aimed at the gay and lesbian community, it attracts non-gay clubbers for its stage shows which vary from performance art to dance.
Acts on the night included simulated lesbian sex, the screening of gay and heterosexual pornography and "general off-the-wall decadence", according to a Garda source.
One of the more visual incidents, the one which provoked the most furore, involved two pole-dancers from Dublin performing on a side stage.
Several drugs seizures were made during a routine Garda raid and charges will be brought in relation to these but no charges will be brought in relation to any of the sexually explicit performances.
Senior Garda personnel have already met Black Box management under Section 18 of the Licensing and Combating Drug Abuse 1997 Act, over the issue. "We have received assurances from management that these events will be monitored in future and that there will be no repeat performances," the Garda spokesman said.
Those in attendance at Club Outstageous were between 20 and 50 and some had travelled from Dublin for the night, he added.
Labour City Councillor Mr Tom Costello received complaints that the performances went beyond the boundaries of good taste and that the women in particular were engaged in sexual acts.
Several of these complaints came from the Garda and arose from their drugs raid on the club. Cllr Costello said other members of the public had also contacted him to express their concern.
"I wasn't aware that activities and shows were going on in the Black Box that could give rise to such offence," said Cllr Costello.
"The City Council committee that deals with the arts will address the issue at the earliest possible opportunity. As a council-run property we need to be very clear about the type of shows we put on in the Black Box. It would be sad if these events had to be curtailed, but as a council, we have a moral responsibility."
The promoters of Club Outstageous said the event had been blown out of proportion.
"We staged 14 different acts on the night ranging from dancers to performance arts. One particular act involved the peep show scene from the film Paris Texas and consisted of two pole-dancers from Dublin," said a spokesperson.
"It was a bit more risqué than normal, but it has been blown out of all perspective. There was no sex on stage. The girls were topless, but that was it. "