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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2016 20:41:58 GMT
Lots of people talking through the overture and entr'acte at Funny Girl today - possibly my biggest pet peeve of any bad theatre behaviour!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2016 11:25:57 GMT
Many reports of bad crowd behaviour at Cardiff's 'City of the Unexpected' outdoor event yesterday. From what I saw (I was performing with the choirs so mostly kept in my 'choir pen' haha) it was a lot of pushing and shoving in crowds-and people complaining about pushing and shoving while pushing and shoving! People also complaining about crowds at a free event on a nice day...I mean it's fairly obvious it'll be busy! I got run over by a good number of pushchairs, and shoving the heels of the person in front is no way to make the crowd move (or give way to you)
I also find myself getting annoyed at 'bad social media behaviour' with people bitching and moaning about the (free!) event online, who seem to have wanted the kind of thing you'd see in a sit-down theatre event rather than one where you had to use a bit of common sense to seek out bits of (I'm not saying they couldn't have been better organised, they could as ever with big events but considering what they were pulling off I was pleasanltly surprised!)
Never ceases to amaze me a) how rude people are en masse b) how entitled as well.
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Post by Musicality21 on Sept 18, 2016 13:56:15 GMT
Never ceases to amaze me a) how rude people are en masse b) how entitled as well. Exactly this. Whilst not the theatre, I've witnessed almost exactly the same thing when we stood out in Whitby to watch the Tour De Yorkshire cycling come through. We got there really early along with a lot of people and stood at the front behind the barriers only for people to turn up right at the last minute and just stand right in front of us - in front of the barriers and in the road - and completely blocked everyone's view! There was a small child who cried because he couldn't see anymore but did they move? Nope. They just smirked and thought it was funny. Rudeness beyond belief. I wouldn't mind but the marshalls said they couldn't do anything about it. Crowd mentality is a strange thing sometimes. |
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Post by wickedgrin on Sept 18, 2016 16:18:06 GMT
Performance of Aladdin almost entirely ruined by bad audience behaviour last week. I just despair. I know it's a childrens Disney musical but still.
On the Delfont Mackinstosh website it suggests that it is unsuitable for kids under 6, can the adults read when they book?
A grandmother (?) and a child (aged 3/4) sat directly behind me and a friend who talked loudly the whole way through Act One. Not just the child but the grandmother. I turned round several times but could not catch the grandmothers eye as she was fully focused on the child and not the stage. At one stage she was actually pointing upwards to something to the child - heaven help the people behind. At the interval however, just before I sat down (and after a prosecco) I did tell her to stop talking as she was not at home on the sofa watching the DVD! Plus of course my "death stare". Not a word was uttered during Act Two.
But worse was to come.....I happened to be sat next to a mentally handicapped young lad. During Act One he was quiet but during "A Whole New World" - the only song he knew - he suddenly started singing along, very badly and very loudly. The person he was with made no attempt to quieten him. At the end of the song - the person in front of me said very loudly to his companion "Well that moment was completely ruined". After that he was quiet again. I thought "thank god he doesn't know any more of the score". Of course the lad couldn't help himself and he was clearly enjoying it - so he did not receive my "death stare" and to quote another Disney song I "Let it Go".
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Post by ptwest on Sept 18, 2016 16:30:36 GMT
A grandmother (?) and a child (aged 3/4) sat directly behind me and a friend who talked loudly the whole way through Act One. Not just the child but the grandmother. I turned round several times but could not catch the grandmothers eye as she was fully focused on the child and not the stage. At one stage she was actually pointing upwards to something to the child - heaven help the people behind. At the interval however, just before I sat down (and after a prosecco) I did tell her to stop talking as she was not at home on the sofa watching the DVD! Plus of course my "death stare". Not a word was uttered during Act Two. Oh Ive encountered so many people like this. I remember the toddler at Jersey Boys when it was still at the Prince Edward. Lots of "Mummy, he said XXXXX" when any character swore followed by a pantomime gasp from the parents and an explanation that it was a bad word. Then the joyous jigging about when "Oh What A Night" started as it was clearly the song that the little tot knew. Parents far more interested in seeing that their child is having fun than having any awareness at all about people around them.
But then, as part of my day job, I get so many parental letters and communications that I change things purely for their child without any consideration of the other 30 in class. One tried to make me cancel a school trip to the theatre because her little darling didn't want to go. Another 65 children did want to but never mind.
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Post by wickedgrin on Sept 18, 2016 16:50:47 GMT
Yes, it's all about completely selfish "entitlement". It is just vile behaviour and it seems to be spreading like a virus. I tackle it head on whenever I encounter it. If you dont, in my view, it enables the behaviour. Some people look at me astonished as if they have never been challenged on their behaviour ever before or are simply not aware that their actions have consequences for people around them. My favourite phrase is "Well if you cannot discipline your children someone else has to".
I never get into an argument or use bad language - I say what I have to say and either walk off (if appropriate) leaving them gaping, or turn my back. I am old enough to not care a jot as to what excuses (or filth) comes out of their mouths in spluttered response.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2016 16:55:02 GMT
Performance of Aladdin almost entirely ruined by bad audience behaviour last week. I just despair. I know it's a childrens Disney musical but still. On the Delfont Mackinstosh website it suggests that it is unsuitable for kids under 6, can the adults read when they book? A grandmother (?) and a child (aged 3/4) sat directly behind me and a friend who talked loudly the whole way through Act One. Not just the child but the grandmother. I turned round several times but could not catch the grandmothers eye as she was fully focused on the child and not the stage. At one stage she was actually pointing upwards to something to the child - heaven help the people behind. At the interval however, just before I sat down (and after a prosecco) I did tell her to stop talking as she was not at home on the sofa watching the DVD! Plus of course my "death stare". Not a word was uttered during Act Two. But worse was to come.....I happened to be sat next to a mentally handicapped young lad. During Act One he was quiet but during "A Whole New World" - the only song he knew - he suddenly started singing along, very badly and very loudly. The person he was with made no attempt to quieten him. At the end of the song - the person in front of me said very loudly to his companion "Well that moment was completely ruined". After that he was quiet again. I thought "thank god he doesn't know any more of the score". Of course the lad couldn't help himself and he was clearly enjoying it - so he did not receive my "death stare" and to quote another Disney song I "Let it Go". I like Disney, like the films, like the music, love the Disney parks and have visted them several times just to enjoy the magic but- aside from the uninspired casting and the lukewarm reports for Aladdin- your report just about sums up what these musicals have become in recent years... Glorified pantos for kids, where they and their parents behave as if no-one else is sharing the theatre with them. And that's why I, and a lot of my musical theatre-loving friends, stay away. I just can't see the point in paying a fortune knowing that I'll be worrying whether the rest of the audience will sit still, be quiet, and watch what we've all paid to see. The second incident is a tricky one, isn't it? I completely sympathise. The first time I went to see War Horse at the NT, I happened to be sitting next to a not overly young chap on his own, and I could tell immediately that I'd be in for a "different" experience. He spent the whole performance sitting with his hat and coat on, and didn't attempt to remove his rather large ruck-sack from his back. But he was completely in the play, and from the minute it started he was agog, staring open-mouthed at what he was witnessing on the stage. He was completely involved, and was so engrosed that he began talking to himself, ressuring himself that all would be well for the characters. At the point where a gun is pointed at the horse we've all come to love, he started to say, "Oh no! Not Joey, please not Joey..." The tears that I felt welling up for poor Albert and his horse became tears of pure joy for this chap too. He'd had the most incredible experience, as we all had, only mine was made all the richer for sitting next to him. |
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Post by ptwest on Sept 18, 2016 16:56:43 GMT
And at work, my favourite is any variation on "that might be acceptable for you at home but it isn't in my classroom."
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2016 17:10:20 GMT
I don't have the guts to confront someone on their behavior (always scared that I'll challenge the wrong type of person and get punched or get a torrent of verbal abuse), so I just suffer in silence.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2016 18:45:46 GMT
I don't have the guts to confront someone on their behavior (always scared that I'll challenge the wrong type of person and get punched or get a torrent of verbal abuse), so I just suffer in silence. I know the feeling! I always manage to challenge the wrong ones when I do open my mouth, and end up with the screaming people with the large and threatening looking friend/brother/husband. So I normally settle for a death stare and a shhh! |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2016 22:47:32 GMT
I don't have the guts to confront someone on their behavior (always scared that I'll challenge the wrong type of person and get punched or get a torrent of verbal abuse), so I just suffer in silence. Well if I got punched I'd have the person thrown out of the theatre and arrested! Never happened though. I've had some shocking verbal abuse for telling people to be quiet, but I still have no qualms about doing it - if they want to chat during a show, they shouldn't have bothered leaving the pub/their house beforehand. I'm there to watch and hear the show, not their gossiping, so I'll certainly tell them to shut up if I can hear the latter more than the former! |
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Post by 49thand8th on Sept 18, 2016 23:16:35 GMT
I don't have the guts to confront someone on their behavior (always scared that I'll challenge the wrong type of person and get punched or get a torrent of verbal abuse), so I just suffer in silence. I know the feeling! I always manage to challenge the wrong ones when I do open my mouth, and end up with the screaming people with the large and threatening looking friend/brother/husband. So I normally settle for a death stare and a shhh! A drunk girl turned around once at Mormon on Broadway after I shushed her in Act 2 (after also doing so in Act 1) and I thought she was going to try to punch me, but I'm sure she would've missed. Either way, she got up to complain to an usher about me, and I'm not sure what the usher said, but man, she did not look happy when they made her sit back down again. Ha. |
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Post by Anniek on Sept 19, 2016 7:44:57 GMT
Yesterday at the Railway Children. A guy had 3/4 bags of crisps, and eventually he was unable to open one of them. For a couple of minutes he tried -failed multiple times, we wanted to offer our services and open it for him so they noisy unpacking sound would make room for him loudly eating his crisps...-, and it was so noisy.
And he just didn't seem to care at all although it was really loud and im sure the actors could hear it as well (row c, so quite close to the action). They were also talking pretty loud during the first act, and eventually I asked them if they could stop talking so loud, which luckily they did.
No offense here, I just think they really had no idea their behaviour was annoying other people.
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Post by wickedgrin on Sept 19, 2016 8:51:17 GMT
No offense here, I just think they really had no idea their behaviour was annoying other people. I agree, most bad behaviour is not malicious, it's just that they have no idea how to behave in a theatre (or anywhere else for that matter) as they have never been taught. Some people cannot use a knife and fork properly for the same reason. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2016 9:08:39 GMT
No offense here, I just think they really had no idea their behaviour was annoying other people. I agree, most bad behaviour is not malicious, it's just that they have no idea how to behave in a theatre (or anywhere else for that matter) as they have never been taught. They ought to be able to work out for themselves that certain behaviours are annoying to other people and that annoying other people is something they should try not to do. It's like not sticking a fork in your eye: it's not a thing that should need to be taught. |
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Post by Anniek on Sept 19, 2016 9:18:54 GMT
^for me it depends. Sometimes if I ask someone to be quiet, they'll be like 'Oh sorry, I didn't know it was that loud' and they'll shuit up or do an occasional whisper. So then it's fine for me. But for example one time I was sitting next to a mother and daughter who were talking loud, on their phones, and constantly busy doing other stuff than watching the show. They printed out the wikipedia page of les miserables and were constantly trying to read it. 'where are we now' 'what song was this'. During interval I asked them really politely if they could be a little less noisy as I and some others next to me (slip seats at Les Mis) were really annoyed by it, and it was just hard to focus with two people next to you constantly talking, reading, seeing their phones light up etc. This woman was making such a scene; I had to move if I was annoyed by them talking, they had every right to be on their phones, If I had a problem she would call in the manager and I would see she had every right to do exactly what she wanted to do etc... When I -with an attitude but still sorta polite- told them they had no rights whatsover as there's such a thing as theatre etiquette, and the fact that you are requested not to use your phone during the show I thought she would throw me over the balcony, haha! But, during act 2 they didn't touched their phones and shut up.  She obviously was aware her behaviour was crossing all limits, but she couldn't just be like 'Oh im sorry' and shut up during act two without making a scene. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2016 9:52:37 GMT
God, I wish I got people threatening to call in the manager, I'd just smile and invite them to do so. I just get the argumentative ones or the passive aggressive ones who cause more disruption responding to me than they were causing in the first place. *sigh*
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2016 10:46:27 GMT
I've seen occasionally when a show is heavily papered, tickets are just torn off a big strip of tickets and handed out to people collecting them. So in this case presumably C29 and D1 could have been consecutive on the roll of tickets?
(disclaimer - I am not claiming any knowledge of whether any particular show may or may not have been heavily papered!)
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2016 12:04:16 GMT
Right am I the only one who can't stand the sound of ice in a plastic cup. When it is empty bar the ice and yet people still demand to throw the ice around in that stupid cup just to get some moisture... ice cubes in plastic cups, for me, is the devil reincarnated.
... oh and children. Children are just evil.
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Post by Dawnstar on Sept 19, 2016 12:53:57 GMT
Weird behaviour at "Vanities" on Saturday afternoon - think Michael and Dawnstar will confirm. A few minutes before the start, a guy in D1 (seat number significant) says very loudly to the whole theatre "Check your seat number." Then accuses the usher of sending his wife to the other side of the theatre, and reading her ticket incorrectly. Said wife being indeed right over the other side, hovering around C29 or thereabouts. Whole audience watches with some interest as they try and work things out. I'm not sure what happened - think they may have been in on paper or something - but eventually the happy couple were re-united. There may be a Mischief Theatre piece in the whole thing, somewhere... Yes, that was really weird. If you're confused about your seat number then why not go & ask the usher at a normal volume rather than yelling it out to the whole theatre? It's not as if the Trafalgar Studios is such a large theatre that finding the usher is difficult! |
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Post by CG on the loose on Sept 19, 2016 14:37:30 GMT
Mum with young son arrived about 10 minutes late to their seats centre of Row C and promptly got her phone out and messaged someone. As there was still an empty seat alongside them, I thought at the time perhaps she was messaging her partner who may have dropped them and gone to park, and perhaps she was, as the conversation continued when a reply came in a few minutes later, but no-one ever appeared to take the empty seat.
All was quiet for the rest of Act 1 but when the lights went down for Act 2, her face stayed lit up like a Christmas tree as she carried on 'chatting' online... frustratingly she was three seats along from me - perfectly placed for her undimmed phone screen to be clear visible every time she used it but just out of tapping and admonishing range!
About 20 minutes into Act 2, the FOH Manager took up post by the wall on the far side of the auditorium and stood watching her. As if by magic the phone promptly disappeared... so she was clearly sufficiently aware of her surroundings to (a) know she was behaving badly and (b) spot she was being watched but sadly not enough to care how flimmin' rude and annoying she was being!
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Post by adrianics on Sept 19, 2016 15:12:17 GMT
I was in an amateur production of Legally Blonde earlier this year, and I'll never forget just how incredibly disruptive and distracting it was to have a woman in the front row spend pretty much the entirety of Act 2 on her phone.
Not just because of the beaming light illuminating both her and the two rows behind her, but because when you can see the audience's faces it's borderline impossible to ignore someone quite pointedly not looking at the stage.
To top it off, it turned out she was a close family friend of one of the cast and had the cast-iron nerve to talk to them about how much she enjoyed the show.
It really taught me a lot about the mobile phone issue; there is literally no way to do it without being noticed, no matter how indiscreet you think you are. And no matter how experienced the pros on stage are, I'd bet my next mortgage payment that they notice it and it affects them.
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Post by kathryn on Sept 19, 2016 19:04:37 GMT
Friends of cast are the absolute worst, in my experience.
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Post by theglenbucklaird on Sept 19, 2016 20:30:35 GMT
Performance of Aladdin almost entirely ruined by bad audience behaviour last week. I just despair. I know it's a childrens Disney musical but still..... But worse was to come.....I happened to be sat next to a mentally handicapped young lad. During Act One he was quiet but during "A Whole New World" - the only song he knew - he suddenly started singing along, very badly and very loudly. The person he was with made no attempt to quieten him. At the end of the song - the person in front of me said very loudly to his companion "Well that moment was completely ruined". After that he was quiet again. I thought "thank god he doesn't know any more of the score". Of course the lad couldn't help himself and he was clearly enjoying it - so he did not receive my "death stare" and to quote another Disney song I "Let it Go". Well done Wicked. Definitely not bad behaviour that one |
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Post by ncbears on Sept 20, 2016 13:33:51 GMT
Years ago, we drove over 100 miles to see a touring production of Mamma Mia in Charlotte, North Carolina for our young daughter on her birthday. We have third row center seats for the matinee. Show starts. Daughter is engrossed. Woman next to me opens her purse and takes out a glow stick and starts waving it back and forth in the first song. She repeats this a couple of more times during Act One. I did not say anything but thought - how rude. At the interval, we do get to talking and she explains the glow stick. She is a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison which is 1000 miles away. Her daughter was the understudy for Sophie and that performance was scheduled to be her daughter's first performance as Sophie. She had flown in that morning and the waving of the glow stick was to let her daughter know she had made it and was in the audience. Mom took us to meet her daughter and cast after the show. My daughter was thrilled beyond belief. Bad behavior? Yes. But I cut Mom a bit of slack with the explanation.
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She obviously was aware her behaviour was crossing all limits, but she couldn't just be like 'Oh im sorry' and shut up during act two without making a scene.
