The really nice person in the next seat

Oh that was a build up to a damp squib.

I was expecting you to say in a very last ditch attempt and say “do you post on theatreboard”. And it turns out to be Theatremonkey, Ryan or Burleybear. But not to be.

Ironically I was in the Southwark Playhouse last night and recognised no one.

I very rarely talk to people near me, because I'm grumpy and anti social and I don't like humans very much. But a year or two ago I was in the Crucible studio for a Welsh thing about a load of blokes stuck down a mine after a pit accident, and at the interval I sat back and breathed out in an 'oh my god that was tense' kind of a way, just as the old man next to me did the same, and we then spent the interval raving about how good the first half was, and what other stuff we'd seen recently. He said that that play reminded him of one he'd seen years ago in Sheffield about some blokes trapped under a Sheffield hotel during the Blitz and that if I ever got the chance to see it, I should. We talked plays for a good half hour again after the play finished and he was really interesting. Weirdly, a week or two after that Sheffield announced their new season, including a revival of the play about the blokes stuck under the hotel (Operation Crucible) and I went to that and it was really good. Haven't seen the old man again since though, or not yet.

On the flipside, I'm that person who chats to everyone around me. I love sitting next to another solo theatre goer as usually they like a chat. Some of them have even become friends, I've gone for drinks afterwards with them. I love sharing experiences with new people.

When my photo was on here, I got recognised a few times and people from the board would chat to me, which I loved as I an put a person to a comment and it makes me feel like Beyoncé if someone recognises me.

I don’t often talk to people next to me at shows as I don’t usually go on my own but when I do I usually talk to the people next to me. However I always talk to people when I queue up for days seat and it is just lovely to talk to people who are there for the same reasons as you and just chat away the hours waiting. Most if not all the people I have met while dayseating have been nice.

It was the beginning of a romcom, then not so sure! I do have a go at pleasantries at the Theatre. I mean you are sitting closer to a person by chance than you probably would to someone by choice! I can say with confidence that a nice guy to sit next to is Neil. Met at the Donmar and the rest is history. 😂

I love this thread! I am generally happy to chat to whoever sits next to me especially if I'm on my own.

Not sitting next to me, but weirdly last year at the National I ran into not one but two people from Cardiff who I'd met only recently at theatre also. It's a small small world sometimes.

My favourite random people next to me were the group of older ladies who kind of 'adopted' me at 'The Boy From Oz' when I was a wee 19 year old...as a group they took me with them for a drink after and put me in a taxi back to my hotel. Bless.

I once had a nice chat with someone about theatre and ticket buying etc. in the dayseat queue for Memphis. He told me about a useful site called theatremonkey...

I always try to say something friendly to the person sat next to me.

I still remember once being sat next to a miserable scouser who kept saying the show was not his kind of thing. He was only here for the wife. Not his kind of music at all and shaking his head. This spoilt the show slightly and certainly the memory of the show. This was eight years ago and I still remember it.

I watched Hamilton recently and was sat next to a couple from South Korea. They asked what I thought about the show and one thing I said was `It is a bit long`. For the past two weeks I have been regretting this. And thinking, was I the miserable negative man that put a downer on the show ?

January 2015. I was at the Prince Edward waiting for Miss Saigon to start. Two guys arrived to take their seats next to mine and noticed they were speaking Spanish, and I asked the obvious, unnecesary question: "oh, you speak Spanish?" (duh, idiot, of course, can't you hear them?). Turns out they were Spanish theatre nerds just like me, who run a website about musicals. We had a great conversation about theatre and had a drink after the show. I felt amazing knowing I'm not the only crazy Spaniard who spends most of his savings in theatre trips to London. I still check their website every now and then, and would love to meet again.

What a lovely idea for a thread!

I recently saw Sunset Boulevard at the New Wimbledon, and while on the tube heading there I was stood next to a guy I really recognised but couldn't place where I knew him from. I received a seat upgrade from the upper circle to the dress when I got to the theatre and guess who ended up sat next to me, the same guy from the tube! Funnily enough, the seat was actually one he'd booked but being upgraded to the seat right next to him after just being on the tube made me feel like I had to chat to him just to figure out where I knew him from, it turns out he works at The Other Palace so I've likely seen him there. It was really nice to have someone to chat with throughout the evening (not during the show of course) and reminded me how small a world it is when it comes to theatreland!

Oh she saw you coming! Calpol is wonderful though isn't it!

I my (relatively modest - by this forum's standards) experience, British theatre-goers are a very nice, affable and considerate bunch of people. Most of my London theatre trips have been solo, so I'm always happy when someone strikes a conversation as I find it difficult to go a whole day without talking to anybody and also like to compare my own impressions about the show with someone else's. Or just share a random joke with someone.  Also, on many occasions, fellow audience members have been very kind and understanding - bringing me the bag and jacket I left behind after leaving mid-show due to a panic attack or chasing after me to give me the garden gnome I forgot under my seat. On another occasion, I let a fellow agoraphobic have my aisle seat as the poor man was obviously in agony and dying of embarrassment, so I got to sit with his wife and share with her tips and tricks on managing panic and agoraphobia in theatre. Although my favourite stranger on whose kindness I depended was a lovely usherette lady at the Watermill Theatre who took pity on me after I recounted her my misadventures around Newbury - getting lost, wandering into a golf course, then into a gutter and finally getting caught in a shower without an umbrella - so she waited for me after the show and gave me a ride to the train station. So, if anyone knows a Pauline from the Watermill, send her all my love.
Also, as of last year, I realised I've started recognising people I spotted in the audience at other shows. There's a couple I first noticed at the pie-shop production of Sweeney Todd, mostly because one of them is always so fabulously dressed and styled and has the most infectious laughter. 

I love and miss British audiences quite a lot.