Loud Noises in Shows

Even though I know there will be gunfire in Blood Brothers I still jump out of my seat when the gun goes off.

The orchestra starting unannounced with a loud bang at the second act of Wicked always had people jumping out of their seats. Recently they've added an audio saying the performance is about to restart but I still jump out of my seat.

Worked on it years ago. We were all given the gunshot cueline on our first day."I could have been... I could have been (shots)". Still jumped for the first week.

I dislike gunshots in theatre, especially when the gun is being waved around and pointed into the audience. There's a part of me that can't shake off the worry that someone may have mistakenly loaded live ammunition and the person wielding the gun may accidentally fire it at me. Even ignoring the live ammunition nonsense I'm still aware that even blanks aren't entirely safe, so point the damned thing somewhere else, please.

I wonder how long it will be (assuming that it hasn't already been done) until 'accidentally' shooting a (staged) member of the audience becomes introduced into an immersive theatre project.

I was recently at the ballet, where they announced over the speakers just prior to it starting that there would be a gunshot. In the end, in that instance the shot didn't sound particularly loud or realistic (based solely on watching movies), and wasn't unsurprising story-wise. However, I think that announcing stuff like that removes some of the tension/unknowns for the audience. Take for instance . If they had announced that there would be a gunshot before the play had started, the tension & surprise of the ending would have been entirely spoiled in my opinion. Granted, storytelling conventions/Chekhovs gun means that the audience may be expecting a shot to ring out in plays with guns, but that's still different to it being unequivocally confirmed in this way.

My feeling is that The Royal Court has the best system in place; their website includes a link/phone number to call if potential audience members have any trigger issues they wish to be warned about (be they gunshots, or particular unsettling topics). By framing it this way, it gives people an option, without forcing the spoiler/knowledge on those that aren't worried.

I don't know how big the venn diagram intersection of 'theatreboard members' and 'heavy rock/metal listeners' is, but in the 90s Metallica had a set which ended with the rigging collapsing, causing 'chaos', falling roadies, the lights in the auditorium to fail, etc. IIRC there were even 'paramedics' brought in to deal with the injured members etc.

Re: the spoiler tagged play above, I agree- although you could 'see it coming' if you thought about it the fact that you aren't primed for it by warnings made it far more effective. Completely appreciate that people wish to be warned about such things but that's a good system/argument for the Royal Court style of 'warnings' that preserve the dramatic mystery a bit.

I abhor loud noises of any kind, but I'm worse with sustained types of it (think war type films, I really struggle to sit through those) so while I get a bit twitchy with a gunshot, it's not so bad. But I hate the tension of 'there's a gun on stage someone's going to fire it' too.

That said as an usher they're a particularly good alarm clock for a nap

I saw the current tour of Miss Saigon in August and was expecting guns and pyros, but I don't remember there being any pyros? I didn't find the gunshots so bad as I was kind of expecting them, and it sounded like a sound effect to me opposed to them firing a blank (and I was sitting right at that back so that probably helped).

I had to watch the live recording of Miss Saigon before I’d even consider seeing it live as I too detest gunshots and loud noises. Once I knew where they were I was happy to see it live, although I was caught out by the fireworks midway through!

When I was directing Beauty and the Beast, I had to cut the exploding champagne bottles at the end of Be Our Guest as there wasn't space for the cast on stage for it to be safe.

What no-one on the tech team told me (let alone consulted me on) was that they had replaced them with pyros lined up along the front of the stage - which we first got to experience at the dress rehearsal. The look on the faces of the cast when 6 shooting pyros went off in front of them was a picture. Utterly surprised and shock doesn't come close.

Everything else had been planned for and proper warnings given - but that moment was one over which I had control as director and hadn't been risk assessed. I should have exploded with rage - but for the good of company harmony, I didn't. So it is not just audience members that get thrown by effects!

When I saw the RSC’s Henry V at the Barbican a couple of years back there was an unexpected explosion from nowhere. Still getting over it now.

I'm awful with unexpected loud noises, especially gunshots. In any scene with a gun I feel on edge, especially when it's being casually waved into the audience because as has been said previously, you never know if it's loaded with something and also evolution has taught us (or at least, me) to be terrified of life-ending weapons of any kind being pointed in your vicinity.

At Les Mis I'm uncomfortable through the entire scene in which Gavroche gets shot because I can never quite remember when it's coming and there's also one more gun shot than you think there's going to be, the same was true with Women on the Verge when it ran in London. Wicked and The Bodyguard both have moments at the start which if not designed to scare the sh*t out of you have that impact anyway. My favourite show is Bat Out of Hell and that begins very loudly and suddenly, but fortunately seeing it a large number of times weakened the impact of it beginning with a loud bang and the gun they use in Act 2 is fairly quiet compared with other shows.