A little rant about the way people are starting to behave in theatres. As long standing supporters of the theatre, we understand people want to enjoy themselves on a night out. The prospect of seeing your favourite show / pop songs being performed live on stage is thrilling. BUT let the professionals do it please. There seems to be an element who attend the theatre who think they are in their living rooms watching a movie, so arm themselves with a full bucket of popcorn, beers, wine, sweets... And think nothing of disturbing others by keep nipping out to the loo or a top up during the show. Even worse loud talking, commenting what is happening in the show constantly. And as for people singing along... the events in Manchester at The Bodyguard are the tip of the iceberg compared to what shows in London such as The Drifters Girl and Only Fools And Horses have suffered. It starts from people arriving at the show very drunk and descends into all round nastiness as audience members argue and start fights, with the shows in full flow!
When we visit a London theatre it is likely that we have spent up to £100 each on a ticket, a further £100 in train fares and even an overnight stay in an hotel, £100 plus. So easily up to £500 for us both to enjoy a show in the West End. What we do not want is some entitled drunken arseholes ruining the experience for us by talking, singing, eating throughout the show. And then there are mobile phones. 'Turn off your phone' is displayed throughout most theatres, some even making announcements before the show, but lo and behold there are still message tones, full on call ringing and a sea of blue light as some people are more interested in dealing with social media than watching the show they have paid to attend.
Theatre managments need to be on top of this. We have been in auditoriums where people are disruptive and there is not an usher in sight monitoring the proceedings. Plus theatres are happy to sell copious amounts of alcohol for consuming inside and outside the auditorium, plus enough confectionary to sink a battleship, so indeed they must themselves provide an efficient monitoring of what is happening inside the auditorium or face the consquences if not - and by that I mean REFUNDS OR REPLACEMENT TICKETS if a situation is not dealt with swiftly over which they might have some control. Kick them in the box office receipts is the only way to get them to up their game.
We applaud Manchester Palace for stepping up to the mark and stopping the rowdy members who seemed to think they were at a karaoke bar on Canal Street. This unfortunately resulted in the final 10 minutes of the show being cancelled. But a stand has to be taken. When we book for the theatre now there is always an thought, who will we be sitting next to? It makes a massive difference to our experience on the night. Frankly, we have no qualms about telling other people who might be disturbing our enjoyment to shut up, but even doing that you risk starting an all out argument with people who seemingly just couldn't give a shit anyway, such is the level of entitlement going on.
90% of theatre audiences are still respectful of the performers on stage and fellow audience members, but there is a creeping element getting larger, for whom the theatre is the same as football, where behaviour can be extreme.
We do enjoy our pop and rock musicals, but it might be time to get all culturally snobby and stick to Sondheim, even if waiting for a catchy tune is like waiting for the return of Halley's comet. And least the wait will be a peaceful one.
Rob & Ian
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