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Post by profquatermass on Jan 2, 2018 15:15:35 GMT
Ryan would make a great "Childcatcher". With bag checks I wonder if they do include children's bags and when school parties are in. The thought of a female teacher having her handbag searched in front of a class of year 8's amuses me. Though schools are probably told that bags will be searched, so children can always leave these on school bus etc. What about relaxed performances when you could have attendees who want certain items with them are allowances made there. Back to the foam dart issue - what if one had struck a performer in the eye. Remember the David Birrell prop gun issue, the poor guy was blinded in one eye so even a fairly harmless object if it hit someone right in the eye could cause issues especially if performer was wearing contacts etc. As regards water pistols or supersoakers in a panto. about a decade back I went to one of Jonathan Wilkes' Stoke shows, possibly Eric Potts was in it too but they turned the supersoakers right on one of Jonathan's fans in the front row. A not unattractive girl (late teens/early 20's) in a white vest top, who had a water pistol to shoot back at them, she literally looked like she was in a wet t-shirt contest when they had finished as the Dame said. Obviously Jonathan knew the girl and she'd seen the show a number of times and she had been dared to bring water pistol or they had said they'd "get her" if she produced the pistol. There was a production of Timon of Athens at the Globe about 10 years ago where Timon threw mud (IIRC it was meant to represent something else...) at the Groundlings some of whom were not best pleased about it. Stopped after a couple of performances
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2018 15:37:36 GMT
I just had lunch with a friend I trained as a teacher with and we were discussing the fact she's never 'off duty' in the sense of she can sense a child thinking about misbehaving a mile off...and takes great pleasure in deploying the 'death stare' in the cinema, resturants etc.
Of course this does nothing if the parents do nothing. One set of parents in a Pizza Express recently allowed the kids to tear up the colouring sheets, crayons and menus (!!) and throw them all over the floor without a word. And of course without making an effort to pick them up. I was fuming on behalf of the servers, who are paid to serve food not pick up that mess you little gits.
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Post by Mr Snow on Jan 2, 2018 15:55:42 GMT
At B'ham panto last week had a child behind me who parent had put on booster seat, still child moaning he couldn't see. So parent moves child to another seat as the one in front and next to me was free. Great amusement when a man mountain about 6 ft 4 ins and 25 stone took up the seat. I'm over 6ft and about 17 stone so it was a tight squeeze, the big guy was a lovely chap who admitted it was a squeeze and told me to poke him if he took up too much room, not a peek from the child though. I do hope you didn't actually .... ... in front of the child? .........it's ok, I'll go quietly.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2018 15:58:10 GMT
I just had lunch with a friend I trained as a teacher with and we were discussing the fact she's never 'off duty' in the sense of she can sense a child thinking about misbehaving a mile off...and takes great pleasure in deploying the 'death stare' in the cinema, resturants etc. Of course this does nothing if the parents do nothing. One set of parents in a Pizza Express recently allowed the kids to tear up the colouring sheets, crayons and menus (!!) and throw them all over the floor without a word. And of course without making an effort to pick them up. I was fuming on behalf of the servers, who are paid to serve food not pick up that mess you little gits. You should have picked up the pieces from the floor. Walked over to the family and sprinkled all the bits of paper over their pizza saying "sorry, I thought you said you wanted parmesan but I'm all out of parmesan". Then call social services and tell them that the parents are smacking their children in Pizza Express. Parents arrested, children taken away, peace restored to Pizza Express. Three birds, one stone. I'm wasted posting this camp old nonsense day in, day out really. Those who can, teach.
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Post by The Matthew on Jan 2, 2018 16:16:52 GMT
I do think some parents also need to discipline and control their kids. Letting kids run riots in busy public places or places like cinemas or theatres is just not on "My child is not misbehaving. You're just too stuffy to appreciate her exuberance and inventive playfulness." "But she set fire to that person's guide dog." "Stop stifling her creativity!"
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Post by theatreian on Jan 2, 2018 17:17:55 GMT
As the Victorians so rightly said: Children should be seen and not heard. AS a child I was of course an angel. The fact that I got out of the house at night when I was 2 was simply a sign of intelligence!
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Post by Jon on Jan 2, 2018 18:40:41 GMT
I just had lunch with a friend I trained as a teacher with and we were discussing the fact she's never 'off duty' in the sense of she can sense a child thinking about misbehaving a mile off...and takes great pleasure in deploying the 'death stare' in the cinema, resturants etc. Of course this does nothing if the parents do nothing. One set of parents in a Pizza Express recently allowed the kids to tear up the colouring sheets, crayons and menus (!!) and throw them all over the floor without a word. And of course without making an effort to pick them up. I was fuming on behalf of the servers, who are paid to serve food not pick up that mess you little gits. That's a total lack of respect of the restaurant from the parents and the kids, if I'd been the manager, I'd made them clear it up before they either left or got their food. No ifs or buts. Some kids should really be taught to use their indoor voice, no one wants to hear your darling brats bellowing at the top of their voices.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2018 18:55:30 GMT
I just had lunch with a friend I trained as a teacher with and we were discussing the fact she's never 'off duty' in the sense of she can sense a child thinking about misbehaving a mile off...and takes great pleasure in deploying the 'death stare' in the cinema, resturants etc. Of course this does nothing if the parents do nothing. One set of parents in a Pizza Express recently allowed the kids to tear up the colouring sheets, crayons and menus (!!) and throw them all over the floor without a word. And of course without making an effort to pick them up. I was fuming on behalf of the servers, who are paid to serve food not pick up that mess you little gits. That's a total lack of respect of the restaurant from the parents and the kids, if I'd been the manager, I'd made them clear it up before they either left or got their food. No ifs or buts. Some kids should really be taught to use their indoor voice, no one wants to hear your darling brats bellowing at the top of their voices. Oh god on my train home from London on Sunday there was a kid with a voice that was of a pitch that just went *right through* you and a volume that made it impossible to avoid. In fairness the parents constantly told her to a) not shout b) generally shut up and then c) tried valiantly to engage her in something quiet. Total sympathies there parents- you did your damn best, just sometimes kids are bloody annoying without *Technically* being naughty (luckily they got off at Swindon)
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Post by Jon on Jan 2, 2018 19:02:48 GMT
Oh god on my train home from London on Sunday there was a kid with a voice that was of a pitch that just went *right through* you and a volume that made it impossible to avoid. In fairness the parents constantly told her to a) not shout b) generally shut up and then c) tried valiantly to engage her in something quiet. Total sympathies there parents- you did your damn best, just sometimes kids are bloody annoying without *Technically* being naughty (luckily they got off at Swindon) That applies to teenagers, I don't need to hear your conversation from all the way at the front of the bus/train! Or anyone who starts doing football chants or drunken singalong!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2018 19:14:41 GMT
Oh god on my train home from London on Sunday there was a kid with a voice that was of a pitch that just went *right through* you and a volume that made it impossible to avoid. In fairness the parents constantly told her to a) not shout b) generally shut up and then c) tried valiantly to engage her in something quiet. Total sympathies there parents- you did your damn best, just sometimes kids are bloody annoying without *Technically* being naughty (luckily they got off at Swindon) That applies to teenagers, I don't need to hear your conversation from all the way at the front of the bus/train! Or anyone who starts doing football chants or drunken singalong! Oh gosh yes...I also made the mistake of popping into Primark today where it was clearly teenage 'hang around in groups being loud and getting in the way' day...
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Post by theglenbucklaird on Jan 2, 2018 19:47:46 GMT
Had a new bit of bad behaviour during the panto I was on I don't think any one has ever experience on here before. Hopefully no one was there and thus figures out who I am but it is too remarkable a tale not to tell. So as we started the overture something small hit the front cloth. Various crew saw the impact and the ripple it created on the cloth but didn't know what it was so carried on. Well by part way through Act 1, Scene 1 it became apart: A child had bought a nerf gun and was firing foam darts at the stage! The comic picked one up and said not to do it and carried on. A minute later another foam dart wizzed past the baddie's head. Show stop called, front cloth brought in, company manager brought on stage and announcing that until the little git handed his gun in the show would not be continuing. And the gall of the parents to let him do it?! Took ten minutes before the gun was given up and the show started back up. Fortunately the show featured a sequence where water pistols are used on the audience, there was only one main target that night... Post of the year on day one
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jan 2, 2018 23:07:04 GMT
Two obnoxious young women at the Young Vic the other night. Spent the entire time canoodling (less annoying) and loudly chatting (more annoying) to overt glares from some of the cast, then walked out 15 minutes into the first half leaving all their stuff inside, leading to a minor security alert in the interval. Then bafflingly returned for the second half, resumed their conversation, and were the first to lead a standing ovation!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2018 2:17:03 GMT
I wonder if Brian Blessed has ever had bad behaviour at any show he has been in. I could imagine him bellowing "be quiet" or have him record "keep off the stage" to be played if anyone wonders onto stage.
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Post by paulbrownsey on Jan 3, 2018 21:38:39 GMT
Does near-continuous coughing constitute bad behaviour? Does it constitute bad behaviour when it's from someone in a wheelchair? A performance of La Traviata at Scottish Opera was ruined for many people by such coughing. The conductor was driven to harangue the audience and tell them to track down the cougher and make them leave. I have a thread on this under 'Opera and Ballet': theatreboard.co.uk/thread/3948/coughing-opera-management-intervene
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2018 13:11:18 GMT
I saw SRB's Tempest in Stratford and there was a moaning noise (sometimes quite loud) on and off throughout behind me from a disabled guy. I know it doesn't make me a good person to say this but it did spoil it, particularly the end soliloquy. Similarly, I saw the Grinning Man over Xmas and a young woman next to me kept up a constant low level stream of information for her blind mother, which was pretty intrusive.
I know a lot of people will disagree with me but one person's desire to see theatre doesn't trump the rights of the rest of the audience and if you can't go without being disruptive you really have to think carefully about going at all.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2018 13:18:21 GMT
Does it constitute bad behaviour when it's from someone in a wheelchair I read that post on the opera thread. It put me in mind of Wimbledon's panto this year, where a low moaning could sometimes be heard from a corner of the stalls during act 1. At the interval, I looked around, and it turned out to be someone in a wheelchair. No idea of the condition he had, but it was one of those which clearly involved involuntary action. The noises were his way of communicating just how much pleasure he was getting from the entire show, and once I realised all that, I couldn't have been happier. That's what troubles me somewhat about the Opera section post...where do we draw the line. I have had many audience members who made 'involuntary noises' due to various conditions. They (and their carers if appropriate) are aware of them beforehand, but should they be stopped from attending theatre? I would hope everyone would say a resounding 'no'. And while I appreciate the cougher in question was annoying, I also feel for the woman who because of her illness is now denied going to opera (that she presumably enjoys). I appreciate it's a tough one and there has to be balance in terms of performance disruption. But I admit I feel a little uncomfortable withe the ruling 'she should be kept away'.
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Post by christya on Jan 4, 2018 14:30:25 GMT
I've experienced two different levels of this kind of thing happening. In the first instance, there is a man who regularly attends one of our local theatres. He evidently has a severe disability which results in the occasional noise, which seems to be either completely involuntary or the result of him trying to communicate with his companion and probably being unable to regulate the sound. The noise IS a disturbance, and it does spoil things a little - but it isn't constant, it isn't on purpose, and it doesn't make enough of a difference for it to be an issue worth complaining about. Plus, for me the fact that he's been there quite a few times tells me that he probably loves the theatre and being able to attend is important.
Another time, though, a different person was making noise continually, and I DO mean continually. The kind of noise that sounds like someone is in pain, whether they really are or not. It ruined the show completely - at least the first act, because I didn't go back in for the second one. There wasn't any point, and I doubt I would be the only one to leave. I was rather angry that time, because I felt that this was probably a constant issue for this person, and the decision to come there was a conscious decision to ruin the night for everyone else.
Now, in the second situation I still feel for the person concerned. But there were over a thousand other people there who had paid to see a show that they now couldn't enjoy. Can't be right, surely? Maybe a solution would be to provide some kind of soundproofing in some boxes with the stage audio piped in (a screen that could be opened if there were no issue) - a friend's son was offered this in a concert hall a few years back and it meant he could attend without any problems.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2018 14:50:11 GMT
Oh come now. People with disabilities live with them every single second of their lives. And no matter how much they get on with their lives without trying to let their disability run (or ruin) their lives, the very nature of a disability means that it most certainly will affect their lives. Yes, I've paid money to go to the theatre and yes, I should reasonably expect to enjoy it without being affected by other people but let's not forget, those people live their lives with their disability every. single. second. It's constant. They can't switch it on and off.
I think I can count on the fingers of one leg the number of times my enjoyment of a show has been affected by someone with a disability. Now I rarely make exceptions for other people. It's my world, other people have merely been granted the right to live in it but here, I think I can make an exception. I'd be surprised to find many disabled people who make a conscious decision to ruin other people's evenings with their disability, no matter how aware of it they may be. I'm sure that you didn't mean it to sound like that but even still, I have to say that I think that's a pretty shabby thing to say.
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Post by Tibidabo on Jan 4, 2018 14:53:07 GMT
Round of applause for @ryan . The original thread about the coughing, which has now been picked up here, had been making me cross and I have been unable to word a reply, which you have done so eloquently. Thank you and Bravo!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2018 15:03:22 GMT
Round of applause for @ryan . This thread has been making me cross and I have been unable to word a reply, which you have done so eloquently. Thank you and Bravo! ![](https://i1.wp.com/gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Barney-How-I-Met-Your-Mother-Self-Five.gif?resize=366%2C170&ssl=1)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2018 15:25:23 GMT
Round of applause (and a pretty boy to look at) for @ryan
I also can't quite believe I've read the idea basically 'we should put the disabled audiences somewhere out of the way.'
FYI a great number of theatres have a box/area available for those who struggle with being IN the auditorium due to sensory overload issues, or other things (we used to use a spare tech space in one theatre I worked in that was never used for Techies any more) but that was AT THE REQUEST of the person, not just because it would make others uncomfortable.
I pay a hella lot for my train tickets too, but that doesn't give me the right to demand a wheelchair be taken off if it means I have to stand.
Anyway I'm skulking off before I get proper riled up...
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Post by rockinrobin on Jan 4, 2018 16:21:04 GMT
I read that post on the opera thread. It put me in mind of Wimbledon's panto this year, where a low moaning could sometimes be heard from a corner of the stalls during act 1. At the interval, I looked around, and it turned out to be someone in a wheelchair. No idea of the condition he had, but it was one of those which clearly involved involuntary action. The noises were his way of communicating just how much pleasure he was getting from the entire show, and once I realised all that, I couldn't have been happier. I witnessed something very similar last night. There was a group of disabled young people in the auditorium - there is no such thing like a relaxed performance in my beautiful Central European country (which is a shame I think) but then of course, lack of relaxed performances should not mean that some of us are not allowed into theatre... Anyway, it was a joy to watch them - yes, they were a little bit louder, yes, they were getting very emotional but they truly enjoyed the show and were completely transfixed at times. And the actors clearly enjoyed their engagement too. Whilst I dislike compulsive WhatsApp/Instagram/Tinder users, drunkards, munchers, very chatty people and passionate lovers in the audience - I really don't mind this kind of "bad" behaviour.
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Post by paulbrownsey on Jan 4, 2018 16:31:06 GMT
Oh come now. People with disabilities live with them every single second of their lives. And no matter how much they get on with their lives without trying to let their disability run (or ruin) their lives, the very nature of a disability means that it most certainly will affect their lives. Yes, I've paid money to go to the theatre and yes, I should reasonably expect to enjoy it without being affected by other people but let's not forget, those people live their lives with their disability every. single. second. It's constant. They can't switch it on and off. I think I can count on the fingers of one leg the number of times my enjoyment of a show has been affected by someone with a disability. Now I rarely make exceptions for other people. It's my world, other people have merely been granted the right to live in it but here, I think I can make an exception. I'd be surprised to find many disabled people who make a conscious decision to ruin other people's evenings with their disability, no matter how aware of it they may be. I'm sure that you didn't mean it to sound like that but even still, I have to say that I think that's a pretty shabby thing to say. "I'd be surprised to find many disabled people who make a conscious decision to ruin other people's evenings with their disability" I didn't suggest that she made a conscious decision to ruin other people's evenings with her coughing. I did suggest that she was thoughtless or inconsiderate in not considering the effect on other people. The fact that the conductor was driven to shout at her and (telling them to track the person down and evict her) the audience nearby indicates the scale of the problem. My husband is prone to coughs and will not go to theatres or concerts if he suspects he will be coughing to an extent that will spoil things for other people.
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Post by paulbrownsey on Jan 4, 2018 16:33:49 GMT
Round of applause (and a pretty boy to look at) for @ryan I also can't quite believe I've read the idea basically 'we should put the disabled audiences somewhere out of the way.' FYI a great number of theatres have a box/area available for those who struggle with being IN the auditorium due to sensory overload issues, or other things (we used to use a spare tech space in one theatre I worked in that was never used for Techies any more) but that was AT THE REQUEST of the person, not just because it would make others uncomfortable. I pay a hella lot for my train tickets too, but that doesn't give me the right to demand a wheelchair be taken off if it means I have to stand. Anyway I'm skulking off before I get proper riled up... "I also can't quite believe I've read the idea basically 'we should put the disabled audiences somewhere out of the way.' " I never said or suggested that. My point is that someone with loud, racking, near-non-stop coughing like this woman's should have had the self-awareness and decency to absent herself from the performance, either in advance or once she realised the extent of her problem that evening.
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Post by christya on Jan 4, 2018 17:06:57 GMT
If someone is so noisy that it makes it impossible - not difficult, but impossible - for the rest of the audience to enjoy the show they paid for, then I'm sorry if it seems cruel but that shouldn't be something that people just have to put up with. Yes, it's rare - for the two cases I mentioned, in the first instance it's reasonable to expect everyone else to be patient. In the second, it isn't, and suggesting there be an alternative provision isn't some kind of hideous notion - it might actually mean some people are more comfortable going to the theatre, for a number of reasons. How many people stay home because they're worried about creating just such a disturbance, and might take advantage of accommodation if it was offered?
There will always be people who believe that where disability is concerned, the rest of us should just put up with anything. But while I'll always offer help where I can, and would like to see more done to give people access to the theatre - relaxed performances being a great example - I don't think the enjoyment of one person, whoever they are, should take precedence over the enjoyment of everyone else. We should be looking at ways of helping, not expecting people to just lump it.
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