171 posts
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Post by eatbigsea on Mar 20, 2024 22:50:52 GMT
My God there was so much coughing at Long Day’s Journey into Night this evening, from what sounded like two or three people. It’s a quiet atmospheric play, if you’ve got a persistent cough, stay home!
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Post by ceebee on Mar 21, 2024 8:32:31 GMT
Not bad behaviour but worth a mention anyway. I'd like to commend the lovely front of house team at the Hawth in Crawley last night who were all so friendly and welcoming. They have, in my view, an announcement that should be mandatory before all theatre shows. This isn't word-for-word, but the announcement was roguhly along the lines of: "Welcome to this evening's performance of Jesus Christ Superstar. The show will begin in XX minutes. We'd like to remind you that we do not allow cameras or phones to be used in the auditorium while the show is on. If you take photos you will be asked to leave the theatre and we really dont want that because we just want you have a great time - so enjoy the show and remember, 'no photos'."
It was the most polite but firmest way of asserting their policy. Guess what? No photos were taken (as far as I am aware) and it was one of the nicest audience atmospheres that I have experienced in a while.
By eliminating/reducing/minimising the disruptive threat of phone tech through a direct warning that patrons will be asked to actually leave the theatre, it makes their position crystal clear. It was the most effective pre-show message I've experienced - it wasn't trying to be funny, witty, humorous. It was very matter-of-fact, polite and courteous. Combine this with the fantastic welcome and manner of staff in the theatre, and this venue is on to a winner. It would be very hard to take offence at people who are so friendly and make you feel so welcome.
10/10 to the Hawth in Crawley - many other theatres could learn a lesson in how to manage people and expectations.
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Post by schuttep on Mar 21, 2024 12:57:19 GMT
I LOVE the device Mrs Doubtfire uses to warn people not to use their phones etc. And won't spoil it here by saying what it is: you'll have to see the show!
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Post by knutinkerbell on Mar 22, 2024 13:04:40 GMT
Old story … two Popcorn chewing of women behind me, for half an hour in „Stranger Things“. Why the hell do they sell popcorn buckets. It was an absolutely silent audience except from where I sat.
After I said something I was the enemy for one of their group.
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Post by ladidah on Mar 22, 2024 13:54:46 GMT
It's so unfair, you pay a fortune and have to suffer. I am really attuned to any noise around me and it completely takes me out of the show. I saw the Motive and the Cue recently, and a guy next to me kept sneaking mini eggs, rustle, rustle. In the end I just huffed so loudly and he took the hint.
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Post by solotheatregoer on Mar 22, 2024 22:12:29 GMT
Lady next to me at Long Day's Journey Into Night kept rolling her finger over the rim of her plastic cup in a circular motion after she had sunk a few glasses of wine (she had brought a full bottle of red with her - not sure how she was allowed to bring it in). This went on for almost all of Act 1. A few side eyes and evil looks over stopped it. Pretty sure I have misophonia but I just can't stand repetitive noises in the background when I'm trying to concentrate. It completely draws my attention away. I'm also amazed at other people's complete lack of self-awareness of how annoying this could be for other people.
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Post by lynette on Mar 23, 2024 0:25:58 GMT
Three mobiles at the Almeida tonight and one early doors right at the end but I think she was ill. But phones, come on people.
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Post by cheesy116 on Mar 25, 2024 1:52:49 GMT
Don walking out at the beginning of Kinky Boots and doing the 'no phones' announcement with a short skit is probably the best one I've seen so far.
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Post by thomast on Mar 25, 2024 17:38:08 GMT
Theatre etiquette is getting worse than ever.
If you're going to dig deep into a bag of sweets, do it when it's a louder part of the show. Not when it's a silent one. During Hamilton (Burn) someone decided it was the best time to rustle non stop. Had me on edge.
During &Juliet I had someone live translating / explaining the history / time period / language / words. Was so frustrating as they did not even attempt to do it quietly.
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Post by mkb on Mar 26, 2024 4:43:22 GMT
My God there was so much coughing at Long Day’s Journey into Night this evening, from what sounded like two or three people. It’s a quiet atmospheric play, if you’ve got a persistent cough, stay home! There's a lot of whooping cough going around apparently. I'm told you're only infectious for a few days but can have the cough for ten weeks. When theatres and train companies offer refunds for those affected, those with coughs will be more inclined to stay home. And theatre is already far too expensive to be even thinking about adding insurance costs on top, so that is not a realistic option. For frequent theatregoers, insurance wouldn't make any economic sense in any case.
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Post by manchestertheatrefan on Mar 26, 2024 6:37:14 GMT
My God there was so much coughing at Long Day’s Journey into Night this evening, from what sounded like two or three people. It’s a quiet atmospheric play, if you’ve got a persistent cough, stay home! There's a lot of whooping cough going around apparently. I'm told you're only infectious for a few days but can have the cough for ten weeks. When theatres and train companies offer refunds for those affected, those with coughs will be more inclined to stay home. And theatre is already far too expensive to be even thinking about adding insurance costs on top, so that is not a realistic option. For frequent theatregoers, insurance wouldn't make any economic sense in any case. I agree, if you're easily paying over £50 for a ticket, you don't want to waste it by not attending due to a cough. Insurance used to be part of the ATG+ membership, but it was easier to get blood from a stone than claim. I tried to use the insurance once and got rejected, I had Covid and you needed PCR to prove yo had it. The free test centres had closed, and could only find places charging upwards of £50, so refused to get the test as if it did come back negative - which was a possibility as I was at the end of the symptoms - it wouldn't support my claim, and cost nearly as much as the ticket, so little financial benefit. Instead a formal complaint to the CEO resulted in my ticket of £75 being refunded in gift vouchers.
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Post by A.Ham on Mar 26, 2024 19:08:37 GMT
Last night I went to see MJ The Musical at The Prince Edward. There were two women in the row behind, row C, who were FaceTiming on the phone very loudly. The show hadn’t started so that was a little annoying but fine. No sooner than the show had started they started talking loudly. Then one started singing loudly. It was not constant but every few minutes they would start again. The steward tried to quieten them down but received a loud “What do yo f***ing want?”. This went on for a little while then one of the girls clambered out of her row to have a loud argument with him. She wreaked of alcohol. Eventually she went back in and just continued. I’m not going to go through it all but suffice it to say that this continued for most of the first half, when they decided they were leaving. I would have asked them to quieten down myself but was pretty sure I would have been sworn at and made things worse. The first half had been ruined for most of the audience near by and the rest I would think weren’t too happy. There were children around and at times every other word was an expletive. It must have also been quite upsetting to the performers. In the interval a manager came down to get something. I asked him why on Earth had they not stopped the show and dealt with them. I understand that this is quite a big thing to do and he said that there were 1700 people there and some would have to catch trains and it would take at least 15 minutes to restart the show. (Not so sure about that as have had many unintended show stops which restarted a lot sooner. I am interested in what people think on that? They sound awful and I'm sorry they spoilt the show and night out for you. I guess the problem with show stops for this sort of thing is that given some of the behaviour that gets reported here (and the really bad behaviour that ends up in the press), is that there'd simply be too many of them. For some shows they'd probably be having a couple of show stops a week, and that would be deemed too disruptive for the cast and other audience members. Much as all of us who've been sat next to someone like that would dearly love a brief stop, a removal, then a resumption of the show. And I suppose the manager has a point, that whilst this sort of behaviour is really annoying and disruptive for those sat in the immediate vicinity of the culprit/s, the other 95% of the audience probably won't have noticed, but would of course be impacted by a show stop. It's a difficult one to know what's best to do. Other than to place these inconsiderate idiots under house arrest of course...
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Post by ShoreditchTom on Mar 27, 2024 8:11:21 GMT
Last night I went to see MJ The Musical at The Prince Edward. There were two women in the row behind, row C, who were FaceTiming on the phone very loudly. The show hadn’t started so that was a little annoying but fine. No sooner than the show had started they started talking loudly. Then one started singing loudly. It was not constant but every few minutes they would start again. The steward tried to quieten them down but received a loud “What do yo f***ing want?”. This went on for a little while then one of the girls clambered out of her row to have a loud argument with him. She wreaked of alcohol. Eventually she went back in and just continued. I’m not going to go through it all but suffice it to say that this continued for most of the first half, when they decided they were leaving. I would have asked them to quieten down myself but was pretty sure I would have been sworn at and made things worse. The first half had been ruined for most of the audience near by and the rest I would think weren’t too happy. There were children around and at times every other word was an expletive. It must have also been quite upsetting to the performers. In the interval a manager came down to get something. I asked him why on Earth had they not stopped the show and dealt with them. I understand that this is quite a big thing to do and he said that there were 1700 people there and some would have to catch trains and it would take at least 15 minutes to restart the show. (Not so sure about that as have had many unintended show stops which restarted a lot sooner. I am interested in what people think on that? Make sure you email the box office and ask for a refund / second chance to see the show - the more people who do this the more the message will get through to producers who will them empower the FOH staff to deal with it - as awful as it sounds a show like MJ The Musical may need proper security staff (aka bouncers!) who will promptly remove people behaving like you describe.
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Post by ruby on Mar 27, 2024 8:49:24 GMT
I wish someone would invent a silent taser so other audience members weren't disrupted, then the offender could be removed at the interval. Is it so difficult to understand that when the lights go down, it's time to shut up and enjoy the show you've paid to see?!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 27, 2024 9:58:00 GMT
They need to employ one FOH who is a licensed door supervisor (bouncer as they once were known). They should be in a security uniform, not a velvet waistcoat and dickie bow. At the interval they should be a visible presence, patrolling the bars looking out for people who are over-imbibing. These people are trained in conflict management and have to have an additional license to work on premises selling booze. As soon as behaviour starts, FOH alert security and gets them to that part of the theatre. I bet a lot of it would just stop when this security person appeared at the end of the aisle and started watching the culprits. If it escalates they’re trained on removing people safely.
“Oh we can’t afford an extra member of staff” squeals ATG or DMT or whoever owns the theatre, but they can and should be protecting their customers. The idea that this is being left in the hands of people primarily hired to check tickets and sell ice creams is beyond ridiculous in this day and age.
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Post by ladidah on Mar 27, 2024 13:42:39 GMT
Some people act like they are just watching a film on the sofa at home.
Woman and teenage son yesterday at Hamilton. Kept changing seats, coats and jumpers on and off. Having a chat between every song.
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Post by lynette on Mar 27, 2024 14:08:53 GMT
They need to employ one FOH who is a licensed door supervisor (bouncer as they once were known). They should be in a security uniform, not a velvet waistcoat and dickie bow. At the interval they should be a visible presence, patrolling the bars looking out for people who are over-imbibing. These people are trained in conflict management and have to have an additional license to work on premises selling booze. As soon as behaviour starts, FOH alert security and gets them to that part of the theatre. I bet a lot of it would just stop when this security person appeared at the end of the aisle and started watching the culprits. If it escalates they’re trained on removing people safely. “Oh we can’t afford an extra member of staff” squeals ATG or DMT or whoever owns the theatre, but they can and should be protecting their customers. The idea that this is being left in the hands of people primarily hired to check tickets and sell ice creams is beyond ridiculous in this day and age. Sounds like heaven to me but people like to be ‘on a night out’ and not observed; people will act up and challenge, drunk or not; theatres want to flog the booze for more profit; there is other stuff besides booze more difficult to police. The fact is that the unwritten rules of behaviour in public places are no longer accepted/known/adhered to.
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Post by scarletmood on Mar 27, 2024 14:38:39 GMT
They need to employ one FOH who is a licensed door supervisor (bouncer as they once were known). They should be in a security uniform, not a velvet waistcoat and dickie bow. At the interval they should be a visible presence, patrolling the bars looking out for people who are over-imbibing. These people are trained in conflict management and have to have an additional license to work on premises selling booze. As soon as behaviour starts, FOH alert security and gets them to that part of the theatre. I bet a lot of it would just stop when this security person appeared at the end of the aisle and started watching the culprits. If it escalates they’re trained on removing people safely. “Oh we can’t afford an extra member of staff” squeals ATG or DMT or whoever owns the theatre, but they can and should be protecting their customers. The idea that this is being left in the hands of people primarily hired to check tickets and sell ice creams is beyond ridiculous in this day and age. I've seen licensed SIA staff working at theatres with their badges displayed. At Academy venues where you may have crowds no bigger than a lot of musicals all the door staff will be licenced security trained and there will be a security supervisor/manager often on duty too. All FOH/Security staff will have to be on at least the minimum/living wage so there shouldn't be a huge extra cost as it's not like paying for close protection. When we have seen big names doing the Stage Door signings and selfies they often have a security member with them to keep an eye on things so accredited staff are employed then. I fully agree with BurlyBear's common sense idea or with so many theatre's being in the same ownership have a radio comms between theatres like shop security does so help can be called if there is an incident. The risk profile of some shows is far lower just like at gigs where certain artists merit a stronger security presence due to their fan demographic almost like certain sports games.
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Post by sph on Mar 27, 2024 14:38:49 GMT
They need to employ one FOH who is a licensed door supervisor (bouncer as they once were known). They should be in a security uniform, not a velvet waistcoat and dickie bow. At the interval they should be a visible presence, patrolling the bars looking out for people who are over-imbibing. These people are trained in conflict management and have to have an additional license to work on premises selling booze. As soon as behaviour starts, FOH alert security and gets them to that part of the theatre. I bet a lot of it would just stop when this security person appeared at the end of the aisle and started watching the culprits. If it escalates they’re trained on removing people safely. “Oh we can’t afford an extra member of staff” squeals ATG or DMT or whoever owns the theatre, but they can and should be protecting their customers. The idea that this is being left in the hands of people primarily hired to check tickets and sell ice creams is beyond ridiculous in this day and age. It makes sense I suppose. If audiences are going to treat theatres like concert venues, they're going to have to start staffing them like concert venues.
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Post by ShoreditchTom on Mar 27, 2024 19:18:22 GMT
I also think theatres / producers should be far less afraid of dealing with this issue than they appear to be - they will have the support of the vast majority of the audience. I notice lots of shops, banks, council offices etc have signs up nowadays about treating staff with respect and having "zero tolerance" policies to people who are rude and threatening etc, theatres should do the same. Lots of signs and announcements warning that out of respect to the performers and other patrons disruptive and prohibited behaviour (like loudly talking or filming) will result in you being promptly ejected from the venue. And then as suggested above you have security people visible just to drive that message home.
The excuse often made is theatres sell alcohol but lots of places sell alcohol and have rules. It's a shame it's come to this but I think it is a sign of the times and as others have said extra security would just be a small increase in the overall costs of a performance. Maybe we need a £1 security levy per ticket! The sooner theatres act the better I think, I'm sure the poor FOH staff would welcome it too.
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Post by properjob on Mar 27, 2024 22:07:19 GMT
“Oh we can’t afford an extra member of staff” squeals ATG or DMT or whoever owns the theatre, but they can and should be protecting their customers. The idea that this is being left in the hands of people primarily hired to check tickets and sell ice creams is beyond ridiculous in this day and age. Off topic but an important point: Ushers are actually primarily there to evacuate the auditorium in an emergency.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 27, 2024 22:14:13 GMT
“Oh we can’t afford an extra member of staff” squeals ATG or DMT or whoever owns the theatre, but they can and should be protecting their customers. The idea that this is being left in the hands of people primarily hired to check tickets and sell ice creams is beyond ridiculous in this day and age. Off topic but an important point: Ushers are actually primarily there to evacuate the auditorium in an emergency. Yes, in the same way that cabin crew are primarily there to evacuate the plane in an emergency but when not doing that spend the whole flight serving food and drinks, selling duty free goods, buy on board snacks, and scratch cards. (No disrespect to either job but let’s be realistic)
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Post by CG on the loose on Mar 28, 2024 0:23:53 GMT
Some people act like they are just watching a film on the sofa at home. Woman and teenage son yesterday at Hamilton. Kept changing seats, coats and jumpers on and off. Having a chat between every song. I blame GoggleBox...
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Post by sph on Mar 28, 2024 0:41:03 GMT
I blame a society where we take care to cater to the needs of every individual WITHOUT telling people that they must also behave in a manner which works for the benefit of the those around them. Yes you are an individual, but you are also often in a group setting. You are not the main character and your needs are not important enough that they should encroach on the person next to you.
I also blame a too-polite customer service approach which tiptoes around the customer and bows to their tantrums and emails. People who do not work directly with the public should not determine how customers are dealt with from the "top" of a company down.
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Post by BVM on Mar 28, 2024 8:26:00 GMT
I blame a society where we take care to cater to the needs of every individual WITHOUT telling people that they must also behave in a manner which works for the benefit of the those around them. Yes you are an individual, but you are also often in a group setting. You are not the main character and your needs are not important enough that they should encroach on the person next to you.I also blame a too-polite customer service approach which tiptoes around the customer and bows to their tantrums and emails. People who do not work directly with the public should not determine how customers are dealt with from the "top" of a company down. There is this isn't there - I think it's such a good point. It's a hugely positive thing that in society generally we are more in tune with individuals needs (I am talking in general, not in audiences). But those needs absolutely fit within a social ecosystem where other people have a right not to be significantly negatively impacted by individuals realising their own needs. For theatre audiences I do think the needs of the social whole should trump those of the individual. Unless of course as it sometimes feels, the needs of the whole are to eat/talk/text/sing/shout out. In which case we're f*****! I don't think this is the case, I think the "misbehavers" are still in the minority. But it feels increasingly like a losing battle. Which is sad.
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Post by happysooz2 on Mar 28, 2024 13:54:26 GMT
These last posts are so true. I’m currently sat on a train. Three children with iPads and no headphones. All the same family. Am trying to work out if the mum is wearing ear plugs. Someone else is sat with their partner, she has her feet on his lap and no shoes and socks on 🤢 And obviously one person on a call, constantly saying ‘I’m on a train, the reception is terrible’ but because it’s 2024, they have the call on speakerphone.
It is like this on public transport all the time in London now. I just don’t understand how anyone can think their needs trump everyone else’s right to just sit in peace for a bit.
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Post by manchestertheatrefan on Mar 28, 2024 17:07:41 GMT
These last posts are so true. I’m currently sat on a train. Three children with iPads and no headphones. All the same family. Am trying to work out if the mum is wearing ear plugs. Someone else is sat with their partner, she has her feet on his lap and no shoes and socks on 🤢 And obviously one person on a call, constantly saying ‘I’m on a train, the reception is terrible’ but because it’s 2024, they have the call on speakerphone. It is like this on public transport all the time in London now. I just don’t understand how anyone can think their needs trump everyone else’s right to just sit in peace for a bit. That reminds me of being on a train with a woman sat a few rows down with her feet on the seat cutting her toe nails - some people just don't care.
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Post by happysooz2 on Mar 29, 2024 13:01:39 GMT
These last posts are so true. I’m currently sat on a train. Three children with iPads and no headphones. All the same family. Am trying to work out if the mum is wearing ear plugs. Someone else is sat with their partner, she has her feet on his lap and no shoes and socks on 🤢 And obviously one person on a call, constantly saying ‘I’m on a train, the reception is terrible’ but because it’s 2024, they have the call on speakerphone. It is like this on public transport all the time in London now. I just don’t understand how anyone can think their needs trump everyone else’s right to just sit in peace for a bit. That reminds me of being on a train with a woman sat a few rows down with her feet on the seat cutting her toe nails - some people just don't care. 🤢🤢🤢
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