|
Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2017 10:21:07 GMT
Rocky Horror.......I have been going to it for years....I LOVE it! Dragged my partner for the first time last year, even though he had voiced on numerous occasions he didn't want to go as he doesn't like audience participation....Cut to the end of the show, EVERY single audience member apart from one are on their feet doing the timewarp.....All except one, my fiancé......FRONT ROW AND CENTRE!! Stony faced, arms folded, he was having none of it. Even the cast were looking at him...... Ha! That was me age 17 seeing Rocky Horror having not been warned in advance and finding myself the only person not in fishnets. Also I was with a boyfriend who I hadn't been going out with for long and we were still at the stage of finding everything mortifying, so that situation was truly dreadful. Still brings me out in a cold sweat.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2017 10:31:39 GMT
Rocky Horror.......I have been going to it for years....I LOVE it! Dragged my partner for the first time last year, even though he had voiced on numerous occasions he didn't want to go as he doesn't like audience participation....Cut to the end of the show, EVERY single audience member apart from one are on their feet doing the timewarp.....All except one, my fiancé......FRONT ROW AND CENTRE!! Stony faced, arms folded, he was having none of it. Even the cast were looking at him...... haha that would be me!! I've long avoided Rocky Horror for exactly those reasons!!
|
|
|
Post by d'James on Apr 28, 2017 10:57:06 GMT
Rocky Horror.......I have been going to it for years....I LOVE it! Dragged my partner for the first time last year, even though he had voiced on numerous occasions he didn't want to go as he doesn't like audience participation....Cut to the end of the show, EVERY single audience member apart from one are on their feet doing the timewarp.....All except one, my fiancé......FRONT ROW AND CENTRE!! Stony faced, arms folded, he was having none of it. Even the cast were looking at him...... haha that would be me!! I've long avoided Rocky Horror for exactly those reasons!! I would love to see the show without the participation to see how it works as a show in itself, but I think that ship has sailed.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2017 10:58:00 GMT
haha that would be me!! I've long avoided Rocky Horror for exactly those reasons!! I would love to see the show without the participation to see how it works as a show in itself, but I think that ship has sailed. Same! I'm a fan of the music and the show as a thing...I just know I'd want to crawl into a hole and die if I actually went haha!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2017 11:20:46 GMT
I have wanted it to be staged somewhere like southwark or menier for a while now with a complete BAN on dressing up and audience participation. JUST so I could see it as it was intended to be seen. Plus I think it would make the piece a lot darker!
|
|
18,801 posts
|
Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 28, 2017 11:57:04 GMT
I would love to see the show without the participation to see how it works as a show in itself, but I think that ship has sailed. Same! I'm a fan of the music and the show as a thing...I just know I'd want to crawl into a hole and die if I actually went haha! You could totally rock Columbia with tap shoes, a pair of sequinned hot pants, the shiny hat and that pixie cut Emi! (Great pic btw)
|
|
2,706 posts
|
Post by Cardinal Pirelli on Apr 28, 2017 12:04:24 GMT
Having said that theatres should warn, I should also mention that many of the most wonderful productions that I have seen have included audience participation, such as Paines Plough's 'Every Brilliant Thing', Filter's 'Twelfth Night', promenade productions from Punchdrunk, Look Left, Look right etc, the insane Japanese 'Miss Revolutionary Idol Berserker' last year in the Barbican Pit, Ontroerend Goed (who really do push the boundaries way out there), Kim Noble's stand up shows. On the latter, Kim Noble famously confronts his history of mental illness in his shows and anything can happen, albeit that they are life affirming, moving and beautiful in an entirely unexpected way. You probably won't get that from the review on 'Chortle' which said "As if the content wasn’t disquieting enough, Noble ensures that the audience never relaxes. One punter is made to spend the entire show in a corner with a bucket on his head, on which video of Noble and his mother are projected; at another point someone is evicted in a twisted parody of Big Brother-style programmes; and at the end we are all aggressively ordered out without ceremony, although a chosen few are kept back, to what nefarious end we cannot tell. " One of the best shows I've ever seen...... www.chortle.co.uk/review/2009/08/30/27491/kim_noble_will_die_-_fringe_2009
|
|
3,927 posts
|
Post by Dawnstar on Apr 28, 2017 17:01:52 GMT
I used to utterly detest all forms of audience participation. I still remember the horror when we went to see Return To The Forbidden Planet for my I think 14th birthday & when the cast were mingling with the audience at the beginning my mother mentioned it was my birthday to one of the cast. The cast member then went up on stage, announced it to the whole theatre & asked me to stand up while everyone sang Happy Birthday to me. I remained rooted in my seat & wanted to die. I'm blushing just remembering it!
However I have had to slightly relax my audience participation stance since falling in love with Mischief Theatre & Showstoppers. I can now, after some practice, cope with pre-shows (though I still find it embarassing when someone is got up on stage at TPTGW even though I've seen it happen 28 times) & with having to vote by cheering for audience improv suggestions. Audience participation at any shows other than improv or Mischief still makes me want to run away though. Fotunately I've never had an actor try to drag me on stage but if they did I would certainly refuse to go & if they persisted I'd quite possibly be leaving the theatre abruptly & in tears so I hope it never happens.
|
|
466 posts
|
Post by Deal J on Apr 28, 2017 18:28:36 GMT
I have wanted it to be staged somewhere like southwark or menier for a while now with a complete BAN on dressing up and audience participation. JUST so I could see it as it was intended to be seen. Plus I think it would make the piece a lot darker! Oh yes! This is something I've dreamed about for years - I do adore the show, and love dressing up and participating, but I long for a production that takes it back to its roots. I'd love to see a gothic horror version, but I imagine it would be impossible to stop the audience callbacks and dressing up. I think that's why I'll always love the film more than the show (and I do LOVE the show) because it's played serious rather than for laughs, and that makes a huge difference in my opinion. "Shock Treatment" at the King's Head did a good job of audience interaction - never making fun of the audience, just interacting with them. I imagine it would have still been embarrassing if you hate that sort of thing, but they didn't seem to be doing it to make fun of the audience. I remember seeing "One Man, Two Guvnors" in blissful ignorance (before things became more obvious) pitying the audience members and hoping they'd get some sort of compensation!
|
|
|
Post by d'James on Apr 28, 2017 18:42:27 GMT
I have wanted it to be staged somewhere like southwark or menier for a while now with a complete BAN on dressing up and audience participation. JUST so I could see it as it was intended to be seen. Plus I think it would make the piece a lot darker! Oh yes! This is something I've dreamed about for years - I do adore the show, and love dressing up and participating, but I long for a production that takes it back to its roots. I'd love to see a gothic horror version, but I imagine it would be impossible to stop the audience callbacks and dressing up. I think that's why I'll always love the film more than the show (and I do LOVE the show) because it's played serious rather than for laughs, and that makes a huge difference in my opinion. "Shock Treatment" at the King's Head did a good job of audience interaction - never making fun of the audience, just interacting with them. I imagine it would have still been embarrassing if you hate that sort of thing, but they didn't seem to be doing it to make fun of the audience. I remember seeing "One Man, Two Guvnors" in blissful ignorance (before things became more obvious) pitying the audience members and hoping they'd get some sort of compensation! With Rocky Horror, perhaps they could schedule performances with and without audience participation. That wouldn't necessarily allow the show to be fully scaled back in certain ways. I've had a think and maybe it's to do with the people I'm with as to how I react.
|
|
|
Post by d'James on Apr 28, 2017 18:43:06 GMT
That's really weird, the second part of the above post isn't showing.
|
|
18,801 posts
|
Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 28, 2017 18:52:26 GMT
Pirelli sat in my lap and rubbed his magical elixir into my head at the Sweeney pie shop production.
Thing is, I knew he was going to do it before I even got there, Just from knowing where I was sitting. It was a no-brainer and I can't blame him for it. It was a fair cop.
|
|
2,563 posts
|
Post by viserys on Apr 28, 2017 19:03:45 GMT
haha that would be me!! I've long avoided Rocky Horror for exactly those reasons!! I would love to see the show without the participation to see how it works as a show in itself, but I think that ship has sailed. I invite you to see it in Germany, where that kind of thing is usually not happening because Germans, humour, etc. Seriously, I remember seeing it in Berlin many moons ago and there were notes all over the lobby that tossing popcorn or toilet paper or anything else was verboten and the audience just sat quietly as in every other show.
|
|
923 posts
|
Post by Snciole on May 4, 2017 14:24:34 GMT
|
|
75 posts
|
Post by adolphus on May 4, 2017 14:51:58 GMT
Loathe it too. I'm still haunted by the memory of Matt Lucas as Leigh Bowery sitting on my lap during one of the Taboo numbers.
I also hate being showered by things - like the "ashes" during the Cumberbatch Hamlet.
As a rule I now avoid row A at all costs
|
|
Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
|
Post by Xanderl on May 5, 2017 13:04:11 GMT
I really loathe it.
Not sure how long this warning has been there but the Donmar site for Arturo Ui now says
|
|
2,529 posts
|
Post by n1david on May 5, 2017 13:32:22 GMT
I don't mind audience interaction as a whole, but my husband LOATHES it and is in complete dread of it. I read a blog posting about Arturo Ui which described one audience member's experience: And so it was that I got called up on stage. I was asked to play a man on trial - falsely accused of course. For 20 minutes; I nodded, I ran around, I sat in chairs, I got cross-examined, I pointed to the guilty party, I got dressed in bandages, I got in a wheelchair, I got shot. The end. This seems to go beyond "moments". This would be too much for me and would completely ruin the night for a lot of people. Very different if you've signed up for You Me Bum Bum Train but this seems to me way too much for a mainstream theatre production of a 'classic' play.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 5, 2017 13:40:41 GMT
/\ Ooooh how marvellous. I'm tempted to put my loathing of Lenny Henry aside and go now. It could be the beginning of a career on the stage. I might get spotted by dear Nicky Hytner or T-Nunn or The Lord.
|
|
Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
|
Post by Xanderl on May 6, 2017 16:15:30 GMT
I returned my ticket to Arturo Ui as everything I read about the audience interaction filled me with horror, even though I presume I'd be safe as I was at the back of the circle
The box office (unusually I think) gave me a refund to my card without waiting for the ticket to resell, and asked me why I was returning it - wimped out of telling them the actual reason as I was on a bus at the time and didn't want to sound like a weirdo!
|
|
|
Post by d'James on May 6, 2017 16:24:12 GMT
I returned my ticket to Arturo Ui as everything I read about the audience interaction filled me with horror, even though I presume I'd be safe as I was at the back of the circle The box office (unusually I think) gave me a refund to my card without waiting for the ticket to resell, and asked me why I was returning it - wimped out of telling them the actual reason as I was on a bus at the time and didn't want to sound like a weirdo! Oh gawd! What have you heard happens?
|
|
Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
|
Post by Xanderl on May 6, 2017 18:10:42 GMT
Have a look at the Arturo Ui thread but basically all sorts of nonsense more suited to an "immersive" production dragged on stage, put on trial, asked to stand to support Ui, dragged on stage and herded together if you don't.
|
|
2,529 posts
|
Post by n1david on May 6, 2017 22:41:11 GMT
I returned my ticket to Arturo Ui as everything I read about the audience interaction filled me with horror, even though I presume I'd be safe as I was at the back of the circle The box office (unusually I think) gave me a refund to my card without waiting for the ticket to resell, and asked me why I was returning it - wimped out of telling them the actual reason as I was on a bus at the time and didn't want to sound like a weirdo! Oh gawd! What have you heard happens? Look at my post two above yours - this is what happened to a friend.
|
|
|
Post by d'James on May 6, 2017 22:45:56 GMT
Oh gawd! What have you heard happens? Look at my post two above yours - this is what happened to a friend. Ahhh yes silly me. I didn't read it because it was in spoiler tags - in case I saw it, which I clearly won't be doing now. Haha.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 8, 2017 7:41:48 GMT
I asked my Mum yesterday if she was coming to the education day I'm running at the NT, her first response was "I don't have to do anything do I?" clearly any kind of audience interaction aversion runs in the family...
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 9, 2017 8:00:24 GMT
^Well, does jumping up at odd moments to spit on a hanky and wipe something off the corner of your mouth count, though? hahaha
To be honest she's far more likely to pretend she doesn't know me in any given situation! "It's not mine, I had nothing to do with it."
|
|
240 posts
|
Post by Anniek on May 9, 2017 8:59:17 GMT
I don't like it really however for example with shows like Impossible it worked out great. Last time I experienced it was at Moby Dick in the Union and that was quite funny (not only because I was picked)
|
|
|
Post by profquatermass on May 9, 2017 9:45:27 GMT
Given the fact that regular theatregoers seem to loathe it, why do producers still do it, I wonder? I've certainly felt very uncomfortable when I've seen audience members insulted for not wanting to come involved with a show.
Even One Man Two Gov'nors was a bit cringe-making in the way they fiddled the seating to get the right people in the lifting scene (notably Donald Trump on Broadway)
|
|
230 posts
|
Post by hal9000 on May 10, 2017 1:52:33 GMT
I'm opposed to the idea altogether when the concept is a "playful joke" with an audience member as the butt. Given the fear many have of public speaking, it would be an emotional equivalent, amplified, but with no control over the space. Humiliation is not ok.
It would ruin my week! If I was insulted for refusing to play along I would take great pride in indulging in some Bad Behaviour In An Audience and stand up during the curtain call and not applaud but fix the insulter with a glare and possibly the finger.
|
|
1,093 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on May 10, 2017 9:31:16 GMT
Lyric Shopping and F***ing had a lovely piece of audience interaction where they very gently invite a member of the audience to sit on the stage and read the last speech in the play. But there is no pressure to say yes and the cast guide the person so sweetly. And one bit at the start that audience members have to actively volunteer for.
|
|
416 posts
|
Post by schuttep on May 11, 2017 9:24:17 GMT
On the day I saw The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, the audience member joining the cast as the woman accused of arson for the court scene decided to overplay the whole role and upstage the cast. She had to be asked to downplay it.
So some people seem to really enjoy it.
As for me, I found the upstaging effort very embarrassing.
|
|