The (now obligatory) Standing Ovation

I feel a standing ovation is justified when you personally feel that you want to show the performers/creatives your appreciation for a job well done. I must admit that 99% of the time the audience does so out of obligation. I however, will not hesitate in sitting firm if I've hated the show. Evita and the recent Sister Act tour as two examples.

For me, it definitely has to be earned.

Don't despair @caiaphas there was no full ovation at the matinee, some did but most didn't. No ovation st PromisesPromises last night either so not obligatory after all!

All this really comes across like is that because you didn't enjoy a show personally it didn't deserve a standing ovation or appreciation from anyone else....

I gave SOR a standing ovation because i enjoyed the show and thought some of the performances were great and the kids were very talented. I'm not sure that if i was the only one i'd come on here talking about everyone else not feeling compelled to....

I don't particularly think they're becoming subconsciously obligatory but yes, they do happen a lot. We're now starting to give them *during* a show!! I'll happily admit, I'm easily pleased and it doesn't take much to get me on my feet, but I'm having a great time so why not? But what you may see as a mediocre show, others may love. So with your show in question, caiaphas, you can't speak for everyone and it slightly sounds as if you're annoyed that no one seemed to agree with you. I've sat with/performed for muted audiences who've suddenly leapt to their feet at the end. I don't think you can sit there and wonder "why are all these people standing, this is a terrible show" when it's quite obvious the people around you don't agree, whether you think it's obligatory or not. I think you just have to make your feelings known by doing what you did and accept that maybe it wasn't the show for you! I adored SoR & can't wait to return, and for me, the performances of Gary Trainor and the talent & skill of the kids I saw earned a standing ovation alone in my opinion alone.

But if it does bother you that much, don't stand if you don't want and be firm about! I went to Carrie with a load of friends at Southwark and I hated it. And I think I was the only one out of not only my friends but most of the audience too that didn't stand at the end. And in an intimate space I actually got a little self conscious! But I couldn't do it. I absolutely bloody hated it - doesn't mean everyone else was wrong for loving it, though.

I've also found that plays don't seem to get the instant standing ovations that musicals do. Nothing for The Entertainer (though again that was dire) which made me wish I'd stood for Amadeus which I saw the month before which I thought was outstanding, but no one was else really standing, so actually that time I didn't stand my ground (as it were) for fear of being the odd one out!!

I stand when I think it's deserving. Sometimes I'm sitting whilst everyone else is standing but likewise sometimes I'm standing whilst everyone else is sitting.

But it really is a great feeling when a show is so great that the audience rises to their feet in unison as soon as the curtain call starts.

Anyone else notice that all the shows mentioned in this thread are musicals? Something about the culture surrounding musicals and the audiences who attend them, I think. I'm not sure what exactly the reason is, but I definitely notice a difference between plays and musicals in terms of how frequently people stand. In recent months, I saw standing ovations at several musicals, but very few plays (and I see way more plays than I do musicals)

It's interesting to see a thread about this issue in London, because in NYC the S.O's are far more obligatory and meaningless. I guess that's starting to become the case with West End musicals, but again, I don't think it's the case with plays here. I've seen something like 60 plays in the last several months since arriving in London, and out of those 60, I can only recall seeing S.O's at 5 of them: 1. Cursed Child, 2. Yerma (for Billie Piper), 3. King Lear (for Glenda), 4. Donmar Trilogy (after The Tempest on their first full trilogy day), and 5. The Kite Runner. I feel like all 5 performances really deserved the S.O. I was actually very excited about the standing ovation at The Kite Runner, because it really felt like it meant something special, after such a moving story.

If I'm near the front and feel it is not quite SO standard I will clap with hands slightly higher than usual, which feels like a halfway compromise.

Some musicals are sneaky. Sunny Afternoon going from a 'let's all get up and dance' rendition of Lola into bows felt an obvious tactic to get an SO the show didn't really deserve.

This is such a recurring topic here, why? If you don't want to stand, don't. If you're forced to stand in order to see then so what? You're going to be standing in a few moments anyway. It seems like some people simply resent other people being happy and excited.

The standing ovation is scripted into so many musicals (and probably all juke box ones) in an attempt to make the punters forget the mediocrity that existed for the previous two hours and send folk out happy after an energetic last 5 minutes.

If the cast can encourage or force the front rows up, using eye contact, exaggerated clapping, pleading, coming down among us, then the folk further back have to stand if they wish to see the stage. And the production has the "standing ovation" publicity headline.

I don't mean to put the cat amoungst the pigeons, but what is the big issue. Most audiences stand, who cares? So you have to stand for two minutes whilst they bow, whats the big issue? As said above, you're gonna stand in a couple of minutes anyway to leave, take the oppertunity to put your coat on or grab your bag if its a problem. Let people enjoy themselves if they want too. 

See, I like her, can we keep this one around please!

That's an interesting point, I do wonder if certain people do it to get attention themselves from the actors and the rest of the audience rather than showing genuine appreciation. There are plenty of people more extrovert than me and that's fine but don't try and outdo others just for the sake of it.

Yes, that's the impression she was giving - it was all a bit "LOOK AT ME!!". Of course I could be being totally unfair and she was just blown away by the play.

Most of the time if I stand up, it's because the person in front of me has and the only way I can see the curtain call is to stand up.

Can we get an Amen in here? 


On a similar subject, one of my friends is really really annoyed by people clapping in time to the music at the end. It kind of annoys me too, on behalf the ensemble and even some of the leads who don't end up getting the applause they deserve because people are bouncing along in time to the music instead. I try to break rhythm and clap OUT of time to the music (no matter how tempting it might be) and increase/decrease according to how much I liked that person's performance. It's only fair init