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Post by kit66 on Jul 26, 2024 17:00:15 GMT
If I get an aisle seat I know and accept I'm going to have to get up and down to let people through although it does "p" me off when they then walk all along the row to get to their seats at the other end as they came in the "wrong" side.ALSO couples or groups of 3+ that come in individually rather than waiting to be together before disturbing the "aisle sitter".
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Post by longinthetooth on Jul 26, 2024 17:26:41 GMT
Then there are the ones who are in the correctly numbered seat - but in the wrong section! Surely you must know whether you've booked Stalls or Upper Circle?
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Post by kit66 on Jul 26, 2024 17:29:01 GMT
I was at the theatre a couple of months ago and the couple sitting on the aisle would not stand to let me pass.PS Im no spring chicken.Fair enough I suppose. But neither would they move their bags out of the way so as I tried to "climb" over them my foot got caught in one of the handles and went flying ending up banging my face on the seat and onto the floor.Not a word of "Sorry" or "Are you OK?" passed their lips rather a look of bemusement of "What did you do that for?"I didn't go that way at the interval!
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Post by Jon on Jul 26, 2024 17:30:27 GMT
Then there are the ones who are in the correctly numbered seat - but in the wrong section! Surely you must know whether you've booked Stalls or Upper Circle? I am convinced some people can't or choose not to read. |
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Post by kit66 on Jul 26, 2024 17:33:16 GMT
The NT is the worse where the "ushers" check the tickets at the main door,point or nod in a general direction and then you are "on your own" to find your seat once you are in the auditorium.
Get there early to watch the fun ensue!
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Post by Dr Tom on Jul 26, 2024 17:38:19 GMT
We all have mental blocks with seating arrangements sometimes. And I say that as someone who checks the seating plans on the way to the theatre. Some theatres really don’t help, especially where you think you booked the front row and they’ve added more. Or they decide to have both a Dress Circle level and a separate Royal Circle level.
An admission. I once ended up in the Stalls in completely the wrong theatre! It was next to the one I intended going to (and had a ticket for). I did realise before trying to sit down, but whoever checked my ticket hadn’t noticed either. But so long as everyone is polite when there’s an obvious mistake, that’s all that matters.
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Post by winonaforever on Jul 27, 2024 7:26:21 GMT
Reminds of the two ladies I encountered at Crazy For You last summer. They were sat on the aisle and when I arrived next to them and asked if they could stand so I could get past to my seat further down the row, flat out refused and said ‘Can’t you go from the other end, we don’t want to get up.’ Giving them the benefit of the doubt in case one of them had a mobility issue, and to avoid making a fuss I did just that (I was roughly in the middle anyway so it didn’t make much difference), but honestly some people! Sat in the third row recently, a couple requested to move past at least six of us, including two with walking sticks, only to sit down in seats 3 and 4 at the other end. It would have been quicker and easier if they had circled in front of the first row to the other side of the short row, and asked if the two people there could get up to let them in. I had that a few weeks ago, I was in the aisle seat next to the entrance to the stalls, and all the seats in my row were already occupied apart from a few at the other end. A man attempted to reach them from my side. I just told him to go round the other way. Idiot! |
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Post by winonaforever on Jul 27, 2024 7:31:38 GMT
Then there are the ones who are in the correctly numbered seat - but in the wrong section! Surely you must know whether you've booked Stalls or Upper Circle? There were a group of women like this when I was at Drury Lane for the Wild About You concert. Some people came along and told them they were in their (stalls) seats. I heard the usher telling them their tickets were actually for the Grand Circle. It's hard to believe people dont know which part of the theatre they've booked. But, unfortunately, there are a lot of scarily dim individuals around. |
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Post by richey on Jul 27, 2024 8:57:47 GMT
Then there are the ones who are in the correctly numbered seat - but in the wrong section! Surely you must know whether you've booked Stalls or Upper Circle? Or as I once saw, right seat, wrong theatre! Never forget a couple sat in front of me at Wicked when they should have been in the Royal Opera House. How they got that far I'll never know. |
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Post by Peter on Jul 27, 2024 10:11:44 GMT
I remember when the stalls at the Prince of Wales had three blocks of seating and two aisles - it was a regular occurrence for people to go down one aisle, walk all the way across the centre block (disturbing everyone already sat there) then cross the second aisle and to go into the side block.
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Post by Talisman on Jul 27, 2024 10:24:26 GMT
Heard at the Globe
Usher investigating seat clash told occupant that the ticket was for the previous week. The breath taking response was the occupant loftily informed the usher that they were unable to come on that day.
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Post by Talisman on Jul 27, 2024 10:24:45 GMT
Also at Globe 5 people decided to sit on opposite side to their seats to be with friends and asked usher to move the rightful occupants
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Post by Jon on Jul 27, 2024 10:35:33 GMT
Heard at the Globe Usher investigating seat clash told occupant that the ticket was for the previous week. The breath taking response was the occupant loftily informed the usher that they were unable to come on that day. Don't people bother these days with using a calendar on their phone or an actual calender? I do to keep track of things. |
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Post by Dave B on Jul 27, 2024 23:02:06 GMT
NT this evening, young man in the front row comes back from the interval with a hot takeaway meal. FoH notice and have a word but instead of asking him to leave to eat it or to take it outside, they just tell him not to eat it. So as soon as the lights go down, he turns around to look at wherever FOH are sat/stood and then promptly tucks into the meal for the next 20 minutes or so. So putting both him and FOH on the list here...
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Post by david on Jul 28, 2024 13:10:01 GMT
Want to make sure that theatre audiences behave themselves? Do what the Royal Exchange have done and get yourself a bear as FOH security -  |
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Post by theglenbucklaird on Jul 28, 2024 17:08:12 GMT
Sat in the third row recently, a couple requested to move past at least six of us, including two with walking sticks, only to sit down in seats 3 and 4 at the other end. It would have been quicker and easier if they had circled in front of the first row to the other side of the short row, and asked if the two people there could get up to let them in. I had that a few weeks ago, I was in the aisle seat next to the entrance to the stalls, and all the seats in my row were already occupied apart from a few at the other end. A man attempted to reach them from my side. I just told him to go round the other way. Idiot! Did he? Sometimes I just need the pointing out of the obvious |
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Post by winonaforever on Jul 29, 2024 6:12:33 GMT
I had that a few weeks ago, I was in the aisle seat next to the entrance to the stalls, and all the seats in my row were already occupied apart from a few at the other end. A man attempted to reach them from my side. I just told him to go round the other way. Idiot! Did he? Sometimes I just need the pointing out of the obvious Yes, it was easy enough to get to the other side. We were in row D, and you can walk past people already seated in row A, without their having to stand, in that theatre. |
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Post by nick on Jul 29, 2024 7:24:25 GMT
Last Christmas, after 50 years of theatre going, for the first time I went to a performance on the wrong day. Nobody noticed until the rightful occupants turned up at their seats. Lovely Greenwich Theatre staff kept the embarrassment to a minimum and placed us in, I assume, the seats reserved for staff/cast/friends which luckily were free.
We immediately owned up to our mistake as I had this thread in the back of my head - I will not appear as a badly behaved audience member.
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Post by nick on Jul 29, 2024 7:27:55 GMT
And don’t get me started on the Taylor Swift concert cheering, wooping and screeching after every song, this seems to be creaping in to all shows at the moment and really is OTT and does make me wonder why and where it has come from and why now! The Beatles? And during the songs in those days. |
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Post by hannechalk on Jul 29, 2024 7:30:55 GMT
Last Christmas, after 50 years of theatre going, for the first time I went to a performance on the wrong day. Nobody noticed until the rightful occupants turned up at their seats. Lovely Greenwich Theatre staff kept the embarrassment to a minimum and placed us in, I assume, the seats reserved for staff/cast/friends which luckily were free. We immediately owned up to our mistake as I had this thread in the back of my head - I will not appear as a badly behaved audience member. I once went on the right day, right seat, right theatre and right shows, but the wrong performance. I thought my ticket was for the evening - turns out I had booked matinée for that day, and missed it! I was already confronting the person in 'my' seat when I realised. Top marks to the Empire Liverpool (ATG) - they let me in free of charge in a different seat. They could see I was genuinely flustered and embarrassed, and it was a genuine mistake. |
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Post by iwanttix on Jul 29, 2024 9:09:57 GMT
At 'People, Places and Things' on Saturday someone was asleep in the front row of the stage seats. Her head was down a lot of the first act and I was very surprised she came back after the interval - but she did manage to stay awake though. She was very obvious and I was in the circle - I wonder what the cast thought!
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Post by scotty8692 on Jul 29, 2024 13:27:09 GMT
Last Christmas, after 50 years of theatre going, for the first time I went to a performance on the wrong day. Nobody noticed until the rightful occupants turned up at their seats. Lovely Greenwich Theatre staff kept the embarrassment to a minimum and placed us in, I assume, the seats reserved for staff/cast/friends which luckily were free. We immediately owned up to our mistake as I had this thread in the back of my head - I will not appear as a badly behaved audience member. Done something similar several years ago at the Menier Chocolate Factory. I went to pick up my tickets for a Sunday matinee, the Box Office couldn't find them. Turned out I'd booked the matinee the day before-I should have no excuse, working in a theatre myself! Luckily, they weren't fully booked, so they were able to find me a free seat and saved me from further embarrassment! They reasoned that as they were able to verify that the ticket hadn't been used and that they weren't fully booked, then there was no harm done. They'd have been within their rights to say they couldn't help me, but I'm glad they were able to on that occasion! |
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Post by nick on Jul 29, 2024 13:58:05 GMT
It's nice to see three posts where the theatres have risen to the occasion to help us. I wonder if it's clear that we are 'proper' theatre goers and not riffraff?
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Post by Dr Tom on Jul 29, 2024 14:14:16 GMT
I’ve intended to book the evening performance but accidentally booked the matinee on several occasions. Thankfully, I’ve always realised in advance, but once I did have to just leave work for a few hours for a “meeting”. I’m less worried about that now, where post Covid, you work remotely a lot of the time, and also work a lot more outside office hours and join out-of-hours international Zoom meetings (flexibility works in both directions). That depends on the job.
I’ve also booked a hotel room for a night too early, which I did have to get changed, but the hotel was accommodating. Sadly the correct night was at a higher rate.
And, I consider myself reasonably alert. So, I know how easily these mistakes happen. I’m glad that theatres do try and help when they can.
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Post by theatrefan77 on Jul 29, 2024 14:40:21 GMT
It did happen to me once at the Royal Opera House when I booked the wrong date. I called them and they sorted it out quickly.
I have friends who have made the mistake with ATG tickets though and they didn't help at all. So I guess it depends on the company you are dealing with.
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