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Post by mb23 on Nov 30, 2023 15:15:59 GMT
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Post by mb23 on Nov 30, 2023 15:20:07 GMT
I tend to see less jukebox musicals nowadays. The exception to this rule will always be Jersey Boys as it is one of my favourites - but after a poor experience in the audience at Southampton Mayflower on its latest tour, I will never go on a Friday/Saturday night, only midweek. A rarity for the Mayflower, it has to be said. Seen Sister Act, Drifter's Girl, Book of Mormon, Six and many others which could attract a drunken crowd and never had any issues. I also saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which had a lot of children in the audience who were all impeccably behaved, and most importantly looked like they were having a fantastic time! But it's not just the singing. Even in a show like Operation Mincemeat, we had a loud drunk woman screaming at an usher asking her to leave. It was at a quiet moment in the piece and certainly took you out of the performance. At Crazy for You on Saturday just gone a large proportion of the audience arrived after the show had started which disrupted my experience a bit. I have since found out that there were issues with the tube on Saturday which may have explained it. Unfortunately it seems that no show is safe! |
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Post by BVM on Nov 30, 2023 16:18:54 GMT
Re Manchester, I certainly don't think it's a Manchester problem as much as an ATG one.
I have never had any issues at all at Royal Exchange, The Lowry, Hope Mill and Home. Or at Bridgwater Hall. So that's 5 more or less "safe" Manc venues.
Lots of bad behaviour reports from Liverpool, Sunderland and Edinburgh too - all ATG.
In cities which have large touring houses of both ATG and independent, the difference is stark. Birmingham Hippodrome vs Alexandra (all problems at the latter). Manchester Palace/OH vs Salford Lowry.
This thing is Manchester has two ATG huge receiving houses so double the chance of issues as the other 3 cities. Further the local press is very interested now so there is some reporting bias. It also has a wider reach than for example the Sunderland local press.
This is not scientific and is based on personal experience and what I have heard from friends and read about online. But honestly, I think the effect ATG have on audience behaviour needs studying.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 30, 2023 17:22:59 GMT
Very good point BVM . The bar at the Lowry, RET, HM is always rammed pre-show but I don't recall seeing any drink related incidents. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2023 18:47:21 GMT
I would be interesting to compare ATG with non-ATG theatres. I've never noticed much difference in B'ham between audiences at the Alex and the Hippodrome whivch both recieve shows in. I haven't been to the Hippodrome that much post lockdown but I have noticed a lot of their FOH staff seem to be the same. At the Alex there are a few excellent staff like the FOH Security Man and a couple of long serving Box Office ladies but outside of this there seems to be a high turnover.
Do ATG theates possibly go for younger and until next April cheaper staff to save money?
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Post by david on Nov 30, 2023 20:42:36 GMT
As an frequent visitor to both Manchester (I'll include Salford / Bolton / Oldham in this as well) and Liverpool venues, I've certainly had more show disruptions from the ATG venues than non-ATG ones with respect to drink related issues.
Frequent visits to the Lowry, HM, Bolton Octagon, the REX, HOME, Bridgewater Hall and even the Oldham Coliseum over the years have passed without incident but yet the Opera House and Palace do seem to be venues that have had issues. I would say it is the jukebox style shows that seem to be the issue as has been reported on in the MEN / BBC, but as I found out, a visit to the OH a few years ago on a Saturday night to watch "Of Mice and Men", we had a group of ladies chucked out at the interval for being well intoxicated and causing problems for everyone in Act 1. I had the same experience at the Kit Kat Club in the WE a few years ago, a mum and daughter sat near me were kicked out by theatre staff at the interval for drunken antics.
With respect to the Liverpool venues, again, frequent visits to the Playhouse / Everyman and Royal Court can pass without incident but yet the Empire as an ATG venue whilst not reaching audience fights from my own experience, the venue definitely does attract the more lively folk.
Casting the net a little wider on my theatre travels, visits to across the Pennines to Leeds and Sheffield as well as WE / London venues have been great with decent audiences who can watch a show without causing any disruption.
It is jut so frustrating and annoying that what should be a great couple of hours of escapism and enjoyment can be ruined by people who couldn't give a toss about other people. Have some respect for yourself and other people. It isn't hard.
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Post by Jon on Nov 30, 2023 20:46:11 GMT
Some newer church buildings have "quiet rooms" or "mother's rooms" for those with squalling babies. The sound is on speaker for those inside. Wouldn't it be great to take the back two rows out of an auditorium and enclose them for a row of problem children and their minders? I know fewer seats for sell-outs, but foh would have an option for patrons with children who can't keep quiet or sit still. It would make sense for things like pantos but a lot of shows aren't children centic so you'd lose out there. But newer theatres having rooms like this makes sense. Don't some have quiet rooms for people with certain issues who might find crowds and certain situations overwhelming - some sports grounds have these. You clearly couldn't mix the two rooms as that would be a disaster. Maybe Palace Manchester should have a drunk tank? I don't think there would be space for a drunk tank at the Manchester Palace. I've been plenty of ATG theatres and never had an issue with drunken behaviour but TBF I haven't been to any shows recently that attract drunken behaviour. |
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Post by richey on Dec 3, 2023 21:52:23 GMT
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Post by Jon on Dec 3, 2023 22:36:51 GMT
I think it's a panto thing rather than a Manchester thing. |
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Post by sph on Dec 4, 2023 0:01:54 GMT
I think it's something that happens across theatres generally. People leave rubbish everywhere. I know it's technically part of an usher's job to do the pick-up afterwards, but I'd much rather more bins were provided by the theatres for patrons to use. I never leave my rubbish behind on the floor when I leave. I'd be too ashamed.
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Post by mkb on Dec 4, 2023 0:55:13 GMT
Jason Manford is not wrong and I am pleased he's calling this out. There's no excuse for not leaving your seat area as you found it. |
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Post by PhantomNcl on Dec 4, 2023 10:46:52 GMT
We have bins in all the foyers, ushers patrolling the auditorium with bin bags in the interval, and ushers on every door with bin bags at the end of the show.
The auditorium is still an absolute state and takes the ushers ages to do the pick-up - absolutely knackering, especially on a 3-show Saturday.
My favourite group who came to see a show was a school group - at the end of the show the teacher bellowed "RIGHT YOU LOT! I want all your rubbish picked up, if there's anything left you'll be in detention for the week, and I want to see you with one piece of someone else's rubbish too, let's show the staff how much we value them!"
I asked her if she could come back for all performances :-)
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Post by amyja89 on Dec 4, 2023 10:55:05 GMT
This reminds me of a Twitter thread from a while back where somebody stated that they always dump out their left over popcorn on the floor when leaving the cinema, purely out of habit. You would be amazed by how many people replied saying they did exactly the same thing. Unfathomable.
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Post by ladidah on Dec 4, 2023 11:31:00 GMT
That is horrible, why are people so lazy.
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Post by Dave B on Dec 4, 2023 12:18:41 GMT
Obviously not pouring popcorn out (people are the worst!) but both my local Vue cinemas have a new announcement over the past few months where they ask for all rubbish to be left at the seats to help with recycling.
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Post by sph on Dec 4, 2023 13:09:03 GMT
This reminds me of a Twitter thread from a while back where somebody stated that they always dump out their left over popcorn on the floor when leaving the cinema, purely out of habit. You would be amazed by how many people replied saying they did exactly the same thing. Unfathomable. Literally why though? For what purpose? How does a habit like that even form? People are terrible. Some theatres don't help themselves though. I know that DMT theatres have very few bins in their venues because "Cameron doesn't like them". |
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Post by nick on Dec 4, 2023 14:12:24 GMT
We have bins in all the foyers, ushers patrolling the auditorium with bin bags in the interval, and ushers on every door with bin bags at the end of the show. The auditorium is still an absolute state and takes the ushers ages to do the pick-up - absolutely knackering, especially on a 3-show Saturday. My favourite group who came to see a show was a school group - at the end of the show the teacher bellowed "RIGHT YOU LOT! I want all your rubbish picked up, if there's anything left you'll be in detention for the week, and I want to see you with one piece of someone else's rubbish too, let's show the staff how much we value them!" I asked her if she could come back for all performances :-) I must have taught at the right schools as that was a pretty standard teacher comment. Mind you we wouldn't have had rubbish in the first place, but leaving with one piece of other people's rubbish was normal - teaches respect as well as keeping 30 energetic bodies occupied while the theatre empties. |
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Post by paulbrownsey on Dec 5, 2023 10:43:10 GMT
We have bins in all the foyers, ushers patrolling the auditorium with bin bags in the interval, and ushers on every door with bin bags at the end of the show. The auditorium is still an absolute state and takes the ushers ages to do the pick-up - absolutely knackering, especially on a 3-show Saturday. My favourite group who came to see a show was a school group - at the end of the show the teacher bellowed "RIGHT YOU LOT! I want all your rubbish picked up, if there's anything left you'll be in detention for the week, and I want to see you with one piece of someone else's rubbish too, let's show the staff how much we value them!" I asked her if she could come back for all performances :-) Ah, so schoolteachers still go in for mass punishments. Having been a non-offending child who often suffered under them, I still think they're rotten. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Dec 5, 2023 11:05:43 GMT
This reminds me of a Twitter thread from a while back where somebody stated that they always dump out their left over popcorn on the floor when leaving the cinema, purely out of habit. You would be amazed by how many people replied saying they did exactly the same thing. Unfathomable. Literally why though? For what purpose? How does a habit like that even form? People are terrible. Some theatres don't help themselves though. I know that DMT theatres have very few bins in their venues because "Cameron doesn't like them". Exactly, at Old Friends last weekend I was lurking about near a FOH at the interval and three or four people came up to her with empty ice cream tubs asking where to put them. They were told to leave them on the floor. |
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Post by alicechallice on Dec 5, 2023 11:30:13 GMT
This reminds me of a Twitter thread from a while back where somebody stated that they always dump out their left over popcorn on the floor when leaving the cinema, purely out of habit. You would be amazed by how many people replied saying they did exactly the same thing. Unfathomable. Literally why though? For what purpose? How does a habit like that even form? People are terrible. Some theatres don't help themselves though. I know that DMT theatres have very few bins in their venues because "Cameron doesn't like them". When I worked at a cinema, I witnessed a kid do that just as we were opening the doors for the end of the film. I gave them such a bollocking. I don't think they had a parent with them though, I wouldn't have been brave enough to otherwise. Re: CamMac & bins, I noticed that at Wyndham's last night. I had to finish my coffee from McDonald's quickly in the queue to get in & was then surprised there were no bins in the foyer. Lovely BO person took it off me & put it in his bin. |
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Post by merrilywereadalong on Dec 5, 2023 11:30:31 GMT
Re Manchester, I certainly don't think it's a Manchester problem as much as an ATG one. I have never had any issues at all at Royal Exchange, The Lowry, Hope Mill and Home. Or at Bridgwater Hall. So that's 5 more or less "safe" Manc venues. Lots of bad behaviour reports from Liverpool, Sunderland and Edinburgh too - all ATG. In cities which have large touring houses of both ATG and independent, the difference is stark. Birmingham Hippodrome vs Alexandra (all problems at the latter). Manchester Palace/OH vs Salford Lowry. This thing is Manchester has two ATG huge receiving houses so double the chance of issues as the other 3 cities. Further the local press is very interested now so there is some reporting bias. It also has a wider reach than for example the Sunderland local press. This is not scientific and is based on personal experience and what I have heard from friends and read about online. But honestly, I think the effect ATG have on audience behaviour needs studying. Not to be contrary (because in fairness I've been a few times and had only lovely experiences) but I remember the second time I went to see PASSION at the Hope Mill this HIDEOUS group of drunk middle aged women in the last row who WOULD. NOT. STOP. talking or laughing inappropriately, once even talking back to the stage. Focsa asking Giorgio about her letter right before I Wish I Could Forget You "shall I read the letter to you?" or something like that, to the VERY loud response of this woman "please GOD no" and the cackling of her friends. It was infuriating, Ruthie Henshall CLEARLY heard it. I have no idea if they were spoken to at the interval, my blood pressure was going off the chart and as it was my second time seeing the production I decided just to go home. But ushhh....what a memory. |
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Post by christya on Dec 5, 2023 11:31:06 GMT
Ah, so schoolteachers still go in for mass punishments. Having been a non-offending child who often suffered under them, I still think they're rotten. One of our teachers used to try the 'everyone in detention for one offender' thing and I basically started a revolt at 14 by saying I wouldn't be staying and offering to go to the head teacher's office to talk about it. The class (barring the offender) went home on time. |
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Post by talkingheads on Dec 5, 2023 11:44:48 GMT
Obviously not pouring popcorn out (people are the worst!) but both my local Vue cinemas have a new announcement over the past few months where they ask for all rubbish to be left at the seats to help with recycling. As someone who used to be a cinema usher, this makes me apoplectic. Honestly, if I was working for Vue and they announced that, I would quit on the spot. The working day was hard enough without cleaning up people's crap, making it actual policy to leave the cinema looking like a tip is unfathomable. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2023 14:43:43 GMT
Ah, so schoolteachers still go in for mass punishments. Having been a non-offending child who often suffered under them, I still think they're rotten. One of our teachers used to try the 'everyone in detention for one offender' thing and I basically started a revolt at 14 by saying I wouldn't be staying and offering to go to the head teacher's office to talk about it. The class (barring the offender) went home on time. I wondered if that was a tactic taught in teacher training college as it could easily lead to bullying unless the offender was the "class bully". We all had good and bad teachers, some I would still resoect hugely others I won't say what I'd wish on them. Teachers controlling a group in a theatre is hard but I've read about FOH staff and teachers having arguments when a group was told to sit on the floor of the foyer thus causing a H and S access issue. Also teachers trying to stop other patrons going into the loos/blocking the loo door as their party were using them! |
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Post by mkb on Dec 5, 2023 17:14:15 GMT
I remember one particular performance in the B2 studio of the Belgrade Coventry, a decade or more ago, where a school group -- 15-16 years old I think -- kept talking throughout. When I asked a manager at the interval to have words with the supervising teacher, the latter went on the offensive and blamed me for not being more tolerant of his group. These were not teenagers with any special needs; they were just badly behaved, presumably taking their cues from their teacher. The manager was embarrassed but could do nothing. I think we got offered a freebie of some sort which I thanked her for but declined as that wasn't the outcome I was seeking.
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