Bad Behaviour at a Show

I can understand this in museums as they're worried about you damaging things as you can't see where the bag is. A lot of them will let small backpacks in if you carry them in front

I was once at Phantom at Her Maj and all through the first act i could hear a kind of scraping/grinding noise coming from the seats behind me. At the interval I got up to stretch my legs and there were about 4 Japanese tourists with large hard sided, clam shell type suitcases IN FRONT of them and balancing their cameras on. Everytime someone shifted the camera scraped across the top of the case. I was in UC and I have no idea how they got 4 suitcases up the stairs let alone without being seen!

God that really grinds my gears. Even worse on trains where the aisle is narrower and they're bashing me on the head as they turn around looking for seats. 

And wheelie suitcases. Dragged along behind people in crowded stations at arms length as if there was all the space in the world. 

Well done you. Bags: don't get me started. On planes big as elephants stuffed into the over lockers crushing coats, delicate stuff especially carried on board cos delicate, theatres stuffed in space where legs should go making it an Olympic sport to have to walk past to the aisle, museums, ha! a glance inside a handbag in which I could secret Semtex and a small axe but you just couldn't see it ( or smell if no dogs ) while men, it is men, walk through a check cos they don't carry bags! What they have stuffed in the puffy jackets or down the loose trousers is anyone's guess ( restrain yourself from rudery please) so what's the point of the bag check? On the tube, huge bags on backs taking up space of Sumi wrestler and on floor in front of doors of course. People have to take stuff round of course they do and most people are considerate but then the bag checks are inconsistent and cloakrooms in theatres a pain. 

the woman in front of me at Guys and Dolls was texting throughout the show. And 5 times leant forward to get a better focus on her camera to take a picture. I mean BEYOND distracting.

Had a word at half time that consisted of 'please stop. Its driving me mad'. She laughed and proceeded to just text Act 2. Why even go to a show?!

Cheaper than a locker for the day in London, sound advice Duchess

Yep! Not a boy, but... my backpack (or tote bag, depending on the day) that I bring to the theatre is good for holding:

* water bottle
* program, as mentioned above
* solar-powered phone charger, depending how long I'm out
* well-sealed leftovers, if applicable
* jacket
* umbrella, if needed
* miniature folding stool if I'm going to be out in a line for a while

None of this except for the charger would normally fit in my purse. And oftentimes I'll do some grocery shopping on the way home after a matinee, and I hate plastic bags, so I'll use my backpack for that as well.

Some of us come straight from work and that means carrying around a whole load of papers and notebooks and general crap! I have a dedicated weekend bag that is much lighter and smaller. But I've also found through trial and error that I can get my work bag through the NT's strict checks by carrying it on the opposite shoulder that the ushers see. So not really that secure...

As the lady with a handbag it is usually me who carries the water and any other items that Mr can't fit in his pockets.  That's why I can never be an unencumbered theatregoer!

It's not a gender thing, I'm a lady and I've given things to my lady friend to put in her bag before, and vice versa. It's just whoever's got the most storage space, nothing more profound than that really.

At the matinee yesterday for Midsummer Night's Dream at Stratford upon Avon. Lots of schoolchildren in the audience who were mainly well behaved. The problem was the family sitting next to me with 2 small children. The youngest of the 2 whinged and whined most of the way through the first half which of course was very distracting. A theatre attendant came a couple of times to ask them to be quiet but obviously to no effect. I must admit I had thought of saying something before the second act had begun but the offender and one of the adults were nowhere to be seen. While I feel for the parents I don't think they understood their responsibility in this scenario. Really up there with mobile phone use and talking over the overture.
By the way I loved the production and it brought tears to my sister's eyes at the end.

Absolute corker at Les Mis the other night. Upper Circle, and a man calmly walked to the front of the circle, stood by the rail and began filming the final scene. He was told to return to his seat, which he did with only seconds remaining of the show. As we were leaving, the lady usher called him over and read him the riot act, explaining about copyright etc, but she was foreign, he was foreign but a different nationality, and communication between them was proving a bit difficult. Short of loitering to eavesdrop, I didn't hear the final outcome.