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Post by talkingheads on Mar 23, 2019 14:43:35 GMT
Thoughts? I know Baby friendly screenings wre very popular in the cinema. Never seen the appeal myself. None of the film/play is going to get watched or enjoyed surely with everybody cooing over their children but it's nice the choice is available.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2019 14:51:01 GMT
Saw this on twitter earlier. A few smaller companies like Dirty Protest here in Cardiff/Newport have been doing it too. I think it's a great idea for those who want it.
Personally, if I had sproglets I'd want to go to the theatre/cinema for a proper break, so I'd give it a miss (also I'm reliably informed that having children doesn't make other people's automatically more fun to be around when they're screaming) BUT especially for people in the industry who 'need' to see the work but might struggle with childcare, great idea. And also if it's certain performances, well everyone signed up to it so it's fine. I'm not sure how well that works in a bigger space like the West End, versus a small cinema or fringe theatre, but I say good on them for giving it a go.
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Post by crowblack on Mar 23, 2019 15:25:04 GMT
I'm astonished this is a novelty for London! Northern theatres like Manchester's Royal Exchange have been doing 'relaxed' performances in both the main house and smaller Studio theatre for ages. They also have an online, step-by-step visual guide to the theatre spaces in the 'access' pages of the website which is great for users and carers - and people with clinical anxiety like me! - to know what to expect when they get there. The recent incident at London's BFI, where a person with autism was kicked out of a screening, does suggest London's spaces are lagging way behind with access issues.
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Post by dontdreamit on Mar 23, 2019 15:51:23 GMT
Thoughts? I know Baby friendly screenings wre very popular in the cinema. Never seen the appeal myself. None of the film/play is going to get watched or enjoyed surely with everybody cooing over their children but it's nice the choice is available. Brilliant idea. Baby cinema screenings were a thing by the time Littlest came along, so I went a few times. Middle of the day in term time, quiet cinema, and all babies under 1 so sleeping or feeding mainly. It took until Littlest was 3 to start seeing theatre properly again and I would have gone to this in a heartbeat. |
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Post by peggs on Mar 23, 2019 17:51:04 GMT
Start them young I say. And if you're breastfeeding as this thing seemed to start with, you can't 'just' get a babysitter. Babies feed for hours and generally are quiet as anything when doing it so it might be less disruptive that you'd think. Good for them.
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Post by peggs on Mar 23, 2019 22:59:51 GMT
Go for it - provided they cover the seats with plastic, just in case... That reminds me, must put my baby sicked on hoody in the wash! |
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Post by showgirl on Mar 24, 2019 4:56:03 GMT
I know this type of performance isn't new to London, crowblack ; I think it's simply that either the writer wasn't previously aware of any or the Standard was short of filler. I've certainly been attending for a while those which are open to others (eg at Theatre 503, who have a very useful - and cheap! - 12 noon parent-and-baby performance once per run, which means I can fit in two matinees on that day instead of the usual one.) Likewise relaxed performances and those aimed at particular sections of the audience - those who need signing, subtitles etc - are a regular feature in London and elsewhere and I attend those, too, provided the Box Office staff confirm that I won't be depriving of a seat someone who won't otherwise be able to attend. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2019 8:34:28 GMT
I think the “news” with this is it’s the first West End baby-relaxed performance (but the Standard aren’t that invested in the finer details)
Also correct me if I’m wrong but aside from Curious Incident has any West End Show Done “relaxed” performances? (Like I say correct me if I’ve missed this info)
All that said the West End in general could do with upping their access game- captioned And BSL performances are also very few and far between.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2019 8:47:03 GMT
I know a family who've been to relaxed performances of Cursed Child.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2019 9:57:12 GMT
I know a family who've been to relaxed performances of Cursed Child. Ah yes I remember that one too! (Obviously I could do some googling but it’s Sunday and all...I’m very up on my regional stuff but not West-Endy) |
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Post by crowblack on Mar 24, 2019 11:48:49 GMT
I know this type of performance isn't new to London, crowblackThey seem to be limited though: the only ones I've noticed have been for a certain type of play, not plays across the board. Curious Incident has an autism theme so I think that has had them, and a few 'obvious child appeal / school curriculum' plays do, but I've not seen it routinely offered for typical or more challenging plays as is the case at the RX. My attention was drawn because I saw the Young Vic's Kwame Kwei-Armah tweeting about it. As far as I can tell the YV has only offered a couple of relaxed performances - on for the Lorax and one for Twelfth Night, which isn't a very good record. It's about inclusivity for those with disabilities - at the moment there are captioned/ audio described / touch tour performances frequently offered but nothing much for those with other types of disability that can make theatregoing difficult. Even the 'no interval' long play trend can be difficult for some people. |
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Post by showgirl on Mar 25, 2019 5:18:53 GMT
True about limited options at some venues or with some productions, crowblack , but let's hope these become more widely available, which they should if people ask for them (I do know that shouldn't be necessary) or feed back to theatres/companies that these have been helpful. With some theatres I've found, when choosing a performance, that there were a great many non-standard options within a short run, eg relaxed, subtitled, signed - such that at times I've had to book for one of those even if I didn't have a disability-based need to do so. I'm very happy to tweet/email about this and I do, so I hope others follow suit. Maybe this is a case of regional/off-West End/fringe theatres being ahead of the West End? |
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Post by showgirl on Mar 27, 2019 5:28:03 GMT
Is there enough interest for me to start a dedicated thread, eg "Special Performances" (or any title which wouldn't be offensive to those who need them? This would cover relaxed, signed, subtitled, baby-and-carer etc? Meanwhile here's a link to a few relaxed performances in London and the south-east: theatresoutheast.com/relaxed-performances-in-london-and-the-south-east/ |
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Post by 49thand8th on Mar 3, 2020 22:55:35 GMT
Bumping this because I thought it was a thought-provoking read: www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/feb/26/relaxed-performances-theatre-families-disabilityFew people have tested the theatrical atmosphere more doggedly than Maxine Smiles, who last year set out to visit each of London’s 300-plus theatres (she managed 298), blogging with verve as she went. Capricious box offices, creepy ushers, bewildered punters: they’re all here, at theatres vast and teeny. West End houses should be beacons, she believes, “because that’s often people’s first visit to the theatre, that’s how you get hooked. Yet, because they don’t depend on return trade, they treat their audiences abysmally.” She mentions the Tina Turner musical at the Aldwych, with its prominent signs requesting that punters refrain from singing and dancing. “You walk in and they’re already telling you: no. To a 15-year-old kid making their first visit to a real theatre, that’s extremely off-putting.”
Small fringe theatres with an insider vibe are also problematic, she says. “You’re like, am I allowed to be here?” The warmest welcome? That was at the tiny Pentameters in Hampstead. Leonie Scott-Matthews, who has run the theatre since 1968, “grabs on to you the moment you walk through the door, establishes you’re a newbie and looks after you through the whole thing. On the way out she said, ‘Now you know where we are, you can come again.’”
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 3, 2020 23:07:24 GMT
Bumping this because I thought it was a thought-provoking read: www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/feb/26/relaxed-performances-theatre-families-disabilityFew people have tested the theatrical atmosphere more doggedly than Maxine Smiles, who last year set out to visit each of London’s 300-plus theatres (she managed 298), blogging with verve as she went. Capricious box offices, creepy ushers, bewildered punters: they’re all here, at theatres vast and teeny. West End houses should be beacons, she believes, “because that’s often people’s first visit to the theatre, that’s how you get hooked. Yet, because they don’t depend on return trade, they treat their audiences abysmally.” She mentions the Tina Turner musical at the Aldwych, with its prominent signs requesting that punters refrain from singing and dancing. “You walk in and they’re already telling you: no. To a 15-year-old kid making their first visit to a real theatre, that’s extremely off-putting.”
Small fringe theatres with an insider vibe are also problematic, she says. “You’re like, am I allowed to be here?” The warmest welcome? That was at the tiny Pentameters in Hampstead. Leonie Scott-Matthews, who has run the theatre since 1968, “grabs on to you the moment you walk through the door, establishes you’re a newbie and looks after you through the whole thing. On the way out she said, ‘Now you know where we are, you can come again.’”
Depends on the kid. And the expectation set by the kid’s parents beforehand, which should be 1. this is a public space 2. it’s not your bedroom or our sitting room 3. you can’t do what you like here because other people have to be considered. It is not difficult. Stop indulging these people. |
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