4,458 posts
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Post by poster J on Apr 26, 2019 21:54:52 GMT
I wanted to throttle a woman in the row behind me at Come From Away tonight - constant mumbling, clearing her throat and rustling sweet wrappers, then to top it off her phone went off. At least her male companion had the good grace to look embarrassed and tut at her himself.
Also not sure why the man sitting in front of me decided a moment of deliberate, poignant silence was the right time to cough, or why someone else a few rows further forward chose that same point to rustle in a plastic bag...
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1,909 posts
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Post by sf on Apr 26, 2019 22:42:22 GMT
New pet hate: smart watches. I saw four shows in London this week, and at two of them I was lucky enough to be seated next to a person wearing some kind of watch whose screen lit up every time the owner received a notification. And when I say 'lit up', I mean the sort of light you might use to guide an Airbus onto a runway. The light from those screens is just as bright and just as distracting as the light from a phone screen (and in a small theatre like the Arcola, it would also be visible from the stage when the lights are down). I'm sure it hadn't occured to these two idiots that they were doing anything wrong, but it's simply basic good manners: if you routinely wear a device that emits light or sound in a way that might distract other members of an audience, then switch it off, leave it at home, put it in your handbag, shove it up your backside, but for God's sake take responsibility for it BEFORE the lights go down.
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3,927 posts
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Post by Dawnstar on Apr 26, 2019 22:53:15 GMT
If you book a seat that is clearly marked as restricted view then don't repeatedly lean a long way forward thereby making the view even more restricted for the person next to you! I suppose I should be glad the ROH stalls circle has a good rake or my view would have also been blocked by the couple in front who, despite being at a guess in their 50s, kept snuggling together like teenagers in the back row of a cinema.
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231 posts
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Post by harrietcraig on Apr 26, 2019 23:41:40 GMT
Old man sat next to me at Rosmersholm last night fell asleep throughout most of the play, waking up every time an actor shouts/loud music/audience laughter and then going back to sleep. Most of Act 2 was then mostly leaning into me, body and head, and intermittently snoring, very loudly at one point which everyone turned to notice. He was also accompanied with a very modern looking hearing assistance set controlled with a small tablet/large headphones and a cup of coffee at the start which was still not enough to keep awake... avenueqresident, I thought of your sleeper/snorer today when I saw a movie (an oldie: Designing Woman, with Gregory Peck and Lauren Bacall) at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Just before the screening started, a museum security guard announced, “Please remember, no cellphone use is allowed in the theater; also no eating, no drinking, no smoking, and no sleeping—and if you must sleep, please don’t snore”. It obviously worked, because (apart from a few crackly water bottles) none of those offenses occurred during the movie.
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 27, 2019 7:22:00 GMT
At almost 5000 posts now on this thread - beaten only by the Wicked and Hamilton threads, I do feel the theatre industry should take a unified and concerted effort to improve (or educate) audience behaviour which is getting steadily worse in my view.
I think some well respected actor should record a message which should be played in all theatres before a performance requesting "good behaviour". The same message at whichever theatre or show/play would re-enforce constantly.
It should say something like " Welcome to tonights performance. Please be considerate to other audience members so that you all may enjoy this unique live event. You can achieve this by ensuring all mobile phones are switched off - the light from phones (or watches) can be as distracting as the sound. No recording or photography is permitted. Please restrict your talking, texting and unwrapping noisy sweets to the interval or after the show. We hope you enjoy this performance".
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2019 9:15:47 GMT
Then there's the international aspect, you could argue "they should all understand English" but not all do, I'd bet a large percentage not as a first language, so announcements can be misunderstood or just missed.
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 27, 2019 10:38:11 GMT
The thing that amuses me is when ushers merely walk to the front of the auditorium with a sign (like a road sign) indicating no phones 📵 or photography which are not seen as audience members are engrossed in their phones until the last possible second!
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Post by winonaforever on Apr 27, 2019 12:13:05 GMT
a) Wiring every seat in the West End to the mains is the only solution. I approve of this idea, and I'd like to apply for the job of administering the electric shocks. If anyone offends twice I'll turn the intensity up and the bodies can be removed discreetly during the bows, and chucked out of the stage door into the gutter. And serve them right!
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Post by winonaforever on Apr 27, 2019 12:14:25 GMT
The thing that amuses me is when ushers merely walk to the front of the auditorium with a sign (like a road sign) indicating no phones 📵 or photography which are not seen as audience members are engrossed in their phones until the last possible second! They do this at The Other Palace. You're right, it's a waste of time!
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Post by theatre241 on Apr 27, 2019 20:16:15 GMT
West Side Story @ Royal Exchange. Drunk woman sat next to me in Act two and laughed when people did and she wouldn't stop talking and toe tapping **LOUDLY**
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Post by xanady on Apr 27, 2019 22:02:17 GMT
323 pages now on this thread and counting.Wow! Much of the poor behaviour is linked to a total lack of respect for other people in what is becoming more of a Me! Me! Me! society by the day.Recently saw an elderly lady with a luggage trolley pushed aside as she was trying to get on a train by a well-dressed city gent.Fortunately a couple of guys spotted it and ‘addressed’ the situation themselves.More I cannot say.
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695 posts
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Post by cheesy116 on Apr 27, 2019 23:53:11 GMT
Kings Theatre Glasgow this afternoon during The Full Monty and the police having to get called due to 2 women swearing and screaming at the duty manager after getting asked to leave, as they were shouting at quiet moments and spilling their smuggled in drink everywhere. It's an un-miked play and people come expecting it to be Magic Mike.
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Post by bgarde on Apr 28, 2019 6:10:59 GMT
During All About Eve yesterday my neighbour took the video parts to be some kind of break - checking phone, then rifling through bag for reading glasses to then type a very long reply
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Post by winonaforever on Apr 28, 2019 8:08:34 GMT
To balance it out a bit, I just counted up, and I didn't see/hear any bad behaviour at all at the last EIGHT shows I saw which is pretty good!😇
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Post by asfound on Apr 28, 2019 8:12:46 GMT
I don't know if it's the weather, this city, this (and actually my) generation or just a general paradigm shift towards a culture of self-absorbed, selfish narcissism but I'm getting to the point where I question even bothering wasting money booking shows when I'd say at least half the time there is some distraction or another. Not even just theatre, anything where you need to focus and pay attention to fully appreciate - cinema, opera, classical music, art galleries whatever.
It actually seems normalised now that scene changes and musical interludes are little breaks for people to start whispering or fully chatting, or to check their phones and reply to messages. To the couple the other day - how many people needed to tell you to shut up? I know I did from two rows in front, the woman in front of you did, some guy off to the side eventually joined in. I'm entitled to rush tickets for Betrayal and would love to see it but I'm having serious doubts as to whether I want to sit there being angry for 2 hours.
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 28, 2019 8:30:24 GMT
I'm having serious doubts as to whether I want to sit there being angry for 2 hours. Completely agree with this. Although I *deal with* "bad behaviour" promptly if it is my immediate vicinity (ignoring it only enables it) it can ruin the night and take you completely out of the show. *deal with* usually involves my death stare and throat slitting gesture which I find surmounts any language barriers!
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Post by xanady on Apr 28, 2019 16:42:50 GMT
asfound and wicked grin,I am with you 100%.Front of house need to do more in some theatres,I feel.Hopefully to lighten the mood,just a quick story...was working on an am-dram of the Scottish Play a while ago in a hired theatre and discovered that the refreshments people who were independent of our group were planning to sell popcorn,family bags of crisps and,wait for it... toffee apples in crinkly crunchy paper.The dramatic tension of the piece would have been replaced by,’Is this a nacho I see before me...?’We had a lively discussion and a compromise was reached which was no food allowed in the auditorium itself!
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3,927 posts
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Post by Dawnstar on Apr 28, 2019 19:55:12 GMT
I would expect that if someone cares enough about seeing a performance to pay over £100 for a ticket then they'd also care enough to have bathed before attending. Unfortunately the woman I was sat next to at the ROH yesterday afternoon evidently didn't think that. I spent the performance leaning as far away from her as I could - fortunately I had a wall the other side of me so could do that without inconveniencing anyone else, although it made my view worse & gave me back ache - and sprayed loads of perfume on myself just before each act started.
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83 posts
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Post by highonahill on Apr 28, 2019 20:44:15 GMT
I'm having serious doubts as to whether I want to sit there being angry for 2 hours. Completely agree with this. Although I *deal with* "bad behaviour" promptly if it is my immediate vicinity (ignoring it only enables it) it can ruin the night and take you completely out of the show. *deal with* usually involves my death stare and throat slitting gesture which I find surmounts any language barriers! In the last two weeks alone I've had noisily eating giant packets of crisps behind me & constant mobile phone checking 3rows in front (Curious Incident), and even a mobile phone out in the Minerva in Chichester at This Is My Family! Refreshingly tonight I was in the front row at Broken Wings so could just absorb the glorious storytelling and vocals without distraction!
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587 posts
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Post by Polly1 on Apr 29, 2019 14:23:47 GMT
Things are not helped when the BBC article about the Emilia baby-friendly performance is titled "Bad behaviour encouraged at theatre".
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 29, 2019 16:08:08 GMT
A friend of mine who occasionally goes to the theatre saw this BBC article and was utterly appalled that this sort of thing was encouraged!!
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Post by xanady on Apr 29, 2019 18:01:57 GMT
Booking the very front row and wearing blinkers might be the only way forward.I swear I am seeing worst behaviour in theatres than in the cinema atm which sounds ludicrous.
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3,927 posts
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Post by Dawnstar on Apr 29, 2019 18:27:18 GMT
I too book front row when affordable partly to avoid having to look at the the rest of the audience, though even front row doesn't help for certain issues (see my post at the end of the previous page).
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2019 21:28:07 GMT
I really enjoyed sitting in a box for Company (first time I've ever done that!) where I didn't have anyone else to annoy me (just my friend, and she never rustles sweets, plays on her phone or takes her shoes off!) I would definitely sit there again to avoid the idiots.
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214 posts
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Post by paulbrownsey on Apr 30, 2019 11:17:51 GMT
I don't know if it's the weather, this city, this (and actually my) generation or just a general paradigm shift towards a culture of self-absorbed, selfish narcissism but I'm getting to the point where I question even bothering wasting money booking shows when I'd say at least half the time there is some distraction or another. Not even just theatre, anything where you need to focus and pay attention to fully appreciate - cinema, opera, classical music, art galleries whatever. They get told in schools they are special, and there is all this emphasis on building their self-esteem, which reaches the point of their thinking, "If I do it, it cannot be other than wonderful."
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on May 1, 2019 16:12:44 GMT
Seems there may have been a few issues in Edinburgh if they have to issue this
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349 posts
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Post by kimbahorel on May 1, 2019 16:17:02 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2019 19:04:39 GMT
Seems there may have been a few issues in Edinburgh if they have to issue this It is the only Edinburgh theatre where I’ve had that problem. Never experienced anything like it at the Festival, Kings, Lyceum or Traverse. Worst audience was definitely Grease. Drunk singalongs. Ditto for Jersey Boys.
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5,593 posts
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Post by lynette on May 1, 2019 21:58:32 GMT
Just funny this evening at the Bridge. A bloke says, 'we're in row D.' Woman replies 'no we're in row B' She sits in row A. Has to moved by usher to row B. And somebody else, after struggling to identify row E said 'they should have designed this theatre better'
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2,389 posts
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Post by peggs on May 1, 2019 22:11:16 GMT
Just funny this evening at the Bridge. A bloke says, 'we're in row D.' Woman replies 'no we're in row B' She sits in row A. Has to moved by usher to row B. And somebody else, after struggling to identify row E said 'they should have designed this theatre better' At duke of York this afternoon people wandering all over the place looking for seats, couple decided row a was in fact b. Latecomer and I agreed if you're at the royal court where they hide numbers everyone needs help otherwise we'll it's fairly straight forward. Unfunny funny laughers out this afternoon and chatters in scene changes.
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