The Theatre Question Amnesty Thread

I was in row A when I last saw The Woman In Black, zero complaints here! Mind you, that could well have had something to do with the fact I was on the right hand side of the aisle, and although my section of row A was technically three seats, only my seat was for sale, so it was like having a whole private section to myself. My view was in no way obstructed, even though I was pretty far over to the side, and I didn't get a cricked neck or anything. It's a *very* cosy theatre.

Intrigued by this, I found a couple of articles. Sounds like they were disastrously unprepared and had to cut a lot of it on the spot and therefore the show wasn't performed in full. Sounds like a fun night for all!

www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3612300/Way-of-the-world.html

www.thisistheatre.com/londontheatre/duchesstheatre.html

I damaged my coccyx a few years ago after falling down the stairs and I really struggle sitting in theatre seats, particularly in shows with no interval where I don't have a chance to get up and move about and readjust my position. I often end up fidgeting/moving about in my seat a lot to try and ease the pain and it's annoying for everyone around me and distracting.

Does anyone else have this issue and have any solutions? I've seen online that you can get special cushions for your coccyx to ease the pain, would it be acceptable for me to buy one of these and bring it to the theatre with me? I'd try not to get one that's too tall, and I'm only 5'2 anyway so I can't imagine I'd be blocking anyone's view.

Sorry, don't know if this is even the place to put this question but thought I'd give it a go! Just seen that All About Eve is 2hr10 with no interval and I struggled in Come From Away today and that's only 100 mins with no interval, so I'm a little worried.

I fell and hurt my coccyx last year and couldn't believe how painful it was, fortunately it has got a fair bit better but yes sitting for too long or in the wrong position is uncomfortable and theatre seats are not the best so I do feel for you eliza. I know people who swear by the cushions, there's quite a few options on amazon so could be worth a try. I suspect if you explained if challenged that you shouldn't have problems, since it's a sort of disability thing especially since @baemax has been doing it for years successfully.

Thank you to you both and lynette - I'm feeling more confident about bringing one with me!

When are cast and crew normally required to be at the theatre?

Also depends on things such as needing extensive makeup, something like that can get compensated for time if they need to come in earlier.

Most musicals call the cast for 6pm for the 7.30pm show to do a vocal and physical warm up, make sure make up and costume are on, and generally allow enough time for any hold ups.

In my experience it is normal for the house to be opened half an hour before the show which means any activities that should be done out of sight of the audience need to be done by then. That would include any testing (and subsequent repair of anything that is discovered to be broken). It also includes any company warmup on stage as the stage will generally be the only place big enough.

When I was crew in a regional receiving house my call was an hour and a half before the show but that presumably varies on the complexity of the show/venue. I would do my 5 mins of powering up and checks and assuming everything worked first time, would have nothing to do until I would be part of the delegation meeting the Front of House manager 35mins before the show to confirm the auditorium was ready for hand over to them.

I was wondering about the now established two (and almost never more) curtain calls that we always get at the end of a performance in the more 'serious' theatres, i.e., NT, Almeida, Donmar, Hampstead, Royal Court et al. This seems to be an inviolable rule, even when a major star like Cate Blanchett is involved and the audience were gagging to sustain the ovation, as witnessed last night at the Dorfman. This is not the case so much for a West End show but at the more 'fringe' places it's always been the same for the past 40 or so years.* Was it ever thus? Did Olivier, Gielgud take multiple calls in the past. Do serious 'off Broadway' shows in New York have the same, slightly chased, response?

* Interestingly quite the opposite happens at ROH with multiple curtain calls for opera and even more for ballet; the latter nearly always sustaining the audience response just a little beyond what feels natural or warranted.

Does anyone know of a (presumably) MT song that I'd guess is called "Reckless"? I keep hearing it on the pre-show/interval mixtape played at Showstopper & would like to know where it's from, as I like it.