I came, I saw, I scarpered.

Copenhagen, but that wasn't really my choice. I think I may enjoy it now.

No reflection on the performance but last year, Taming of the Shrew at the Globe. It was a Saturday matinee and the Friday I'd just got back from 2 weeks straight working away. It had been horribly busy and I always struggle to sleep when travelling for work - I had a front row seat and fell asleep during the first half (no snoring but felt quite embarrassed and thought I just needed to go home and get some decent sleep!).

Tally for (almost, given it's still mid-June) the first half of 2017 alone:

Million Dollar Quartet (tour on Richmond visit)
My Brilliant Career (2-part adaptation at Rose, Kingston; made it to interval of part 2 i.e. saw three quarters)
An Octoroon (Orange Tree, Richmond - and at least I did wait for the interval, unlike those who literally ran out earlier)

As for times I wish I'd left at the interval, don't get me started...

Carmen at the O2 remains the only time I've left at the interval. I wasn't feeling that well, we were up in the gods, and the show wasn't inspiring me. Getting on the jubilee line at the interval felt like freedom!

I came *this close* to leaving in the interval of Arturo Ui, but stuck it out. First Donmar show I've ever contemplated leaving.

I left Avenue Q. Daniel Boys was great but I found it samey and glib and wanted to do some book shopping.

I fell asleep during Spacey's Richard III on tour. We were up in the gods. I would have made a case for leaving early but we informed the parking station we were not leaving until later so I waited in hope. Alas, the AC was on the blink and the direction indifferent so I curled into the crook of my neighbour's arm and, hopefully, did not snore.

Only show I have ever left at the interval was Burkes Sister Act - absolutely detested it and the only show I have ever had to force myself to stay awake in!

Another show which I had tickets but didn't go was Side Show at southwark. When tickets went on sale, we booked two different performances thinking we would love it. But after we saw it the first time, we both agreed that we just found it incredibly dull so cut our losses and didn't bother going to the second show.

The only other show we have been incredibly close to leaving was the WNO production of Sweeney Todd. It is our favourite show and this is by far the worst production we have seen of it.

I'm from Yorkshire. Nuff said. The closest I think I ever came was something about the Wordsworths, years ago, at West Yorkshire Playhouse. I even stayed right to the end of Travesties!

I definitely regret not leaving The Entertainer (Kenneth Branagh) at the interval. Tickets were even free!! But was with a friend and it was also the cinema screening night so didn't want to be uncouth. Shut my eyes for a bit though! Back of the stalls luckily (first time back stalls at the Garrick was lucky!), so not on camera.

I have a funny story about a school Drama trip to the theatre. I can't remember which theatre it was, but it was in Cambridge and it was a production of Antigone which we were studying. We were all sat in the back block of the stalls, about 20 of us including teachers, as it was A Level so we didn't have the people who didn't care about theatre there, we are a passionate bunch. Little did we know, not only did this performance go on for aboit three hours, the whole thing was in Latin or Greek or wherever that play is set. We had no clue what was going on, about three quarters of us fell asleep, all three teachers included. And there were students from different schools like taking notes and getting emotional as I zoned in and out. All I remember is falling asleep about 10 minutes in and waking up to some woman getting her eyes pecked out? (spoiler?)

It was awful, it was such a long play and so dull, made harder by having no clue what the hell was going on. And the teachers made us stay after interval because the tickets had been paid for and we werent expected back to the school until a certain time, otherwise they would of ditched. After the show, we got into one of those multi-story car parks where we had parked before the show, and all of bus got in bar the teachers who were outside chatting, and one of them (I can't drive so don't know the technical term) put the car into reverse and we started rolling backwards on the top floor of this high multi-story car park. Luckily a man ran over, got into the front and stopped it. But that was the most we took from that experience.

I think life's far too short to carry on watching something I'm not enjoying.

I've left at the interval for
* a production of The Crucible where it was boiling hot, I was at the back of the balcony and all the women were dressed identically and wearing huge bonnets, so I had no idea who was talking.
* a Tempest many years ago in Sheffield with Antony Sher and lots of African dancers. It was ok, but again, very hot, and I wasn't enjoying it and wanted to go home and watch the snooker, so I did.
* an Anthony and Cleopatra at the RSC in the Swan a few years ago. I went outside at the interval for some fresh air, and just didn't go back in. There wasn't anything really wrong with it, I just felt I'd prefer to do something else than see any more.
*cinema screening of the Branagh Winter's Tale. I wasn't enjoying it at all and felt it was really hammy and pompous.

I didn't leave at the interval, but wish I had, for:
*cinema screening of Maxine Peake Hamlet. OH MY GOD, I hated that so much. My friend was quite enjoying it though, so we stayed.
*that awful Pinter thing with Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart. I really hated that too, and my friend was too, so I have no idea why we didn't leave, but somehow we stayed. We were on an end aisle though, so we slipped out before any applause. I thought it was dire.

The only time I've ever left BEFORE the interval was for a classical concert of Tippett's Child of Our Time. I hated it, but I only left because I was very near a door and nobody except the woman immediately behind me would have seen.