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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 6, 2016 6:53:15 GMT
I had the same experience in a cinema recently, where the performance had allocated seating despite being a morning screening. When I politely pointed out to the lady in my seat that I had booked it, she said aggressively "Did you particularly want this seat?" - well yes, actually, as again, it was an aisle seat near the exit and I had to run down the road to the theatre for a matinee straight afterwards. She moved with very ill grace and much huffing and puffing, but didn't appear to check first where she was meant to sit so of course the problem arose again later. At the cinema screening of Billy Elliot some women came and sat behind us (in the premiums) and when one asked the other if these were the right seats was told "oh it'll be alright, people just sit anywhere". When the people whose seats they were inevitably rolled up she had the NERVE to tell them "we were told we could sit here". The bloody liar. So I said to my friend in a very loud voice "no they weren't, they were trying it on". I could feel the hot daggers  |
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Post by lesmislover on May 6, 2016 9:43:28 GMT
Some of the stories in this thread are astonishing. However, this made me smile. I don't understanding eating at the theatre at all to be honest. Nor do I like bad smells (there is nothing worse than getting stuck next to a smoker because they always stink after the interval). So the worst thing for me is smelly food at a theatre. I just don't understand why people don't think things through in advance. That all said, one of my most embarrassing moments at the theatre was when I attended with a friend and as soon as the lights went down she pulled a Big Mac out of her handbag. |
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Post by Dawnstar on May 7, 2016 17:02:23 GMT
I thought we had a thread for going to the wrong performance but I can't find it so putting this here. At the Duchess this afternoon just before the show started a couple arrived at the end of row G (I was on the end of F). I heard the woman say something like "Sorry we're late, we thought it started at 3. G12 & 13... It doesn't look like there are any empty seats there...". She must have then looked at the tickets again because the next thing I heard was a loud "F***! We're booked for tomorrow." & they exited. Not really bad behaviour, apart from the language, but no wonder there are so many arguments about seat occupancy.
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Post by theatremadness on May 7, 2016 17:13:50 GMT
I thought we had a thread for going to the wrong performance but I can't find it so putting this here. At the Duchess this afternoon just before the show started a couple arrived at the end of row G (I was on the end of F). I heard the woman say something like "Sorry we're late, we thought it started at 3. G12 & 13... It doesn't look like there are any empty seats there...". She must have then looked at the tickets again because the next thing I heard was a loud "F***! We're booked for tomorrow." & they exited. Not really bad behaviour, apart from the language, but no wonder there are so many arguments about seat occupancy. This very much reminds me of when I went to see a Michael McIntyre work-in-progress gig, again at The Duchess, not long ago. It was on a Monday evening, which I believe is the day that TPTGW doesn't perform, or at least it was then. I was lucky enough to be on the front row, and Michael had decided to interact with a father and son 2 or 3 rows behind. As the conversation went on, it transpired that the son had bought the tickets as a surprise for his father.....but for The Play That Goes Wrong!! I have no idea how such a mistake can even be made but my goodness it gave us all the greatest laugh! Michael improved on it for ages, it was just totally hilarious. |
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Post by theglenbucklaird on May 8, 2016 6:56:17 GMT
I thought we had a thread for going to the wrong performance but I can't find it so putting this here. At the Duchess this afternoon just before the show started a couple arrived at the end of row G (I was on the end of F). I heard the woman say something like "Sorry we're late, we thought it started at 3. G12 & 13... It doesn't look like there are any empty seats there...". She must have then looked at the tickets again because the next thing I heard was a loud "F***! We're booked for tomorrow." & they exited. Not really bad behaviour, apart from the language, but no wonder there are so many arguments about seat occupancy. This very much reminds me of when I went to see a Michael McIntyre work-in-progress gig, again at The Duchess, not long ago. It was on a Monday evening, which I believe is the day that TPTGW doesn't perform, or at least it was then. I was lucky enough to be on the front row, and Michael had decided to interact with a father and son 2 or 3 rows behind. As the conversation went on, it transpired that the son had bought the tickets as a surprise for his father.....but for The Play That Goes Wrong!! I have no idea how such a mistake can even be made but my goodness it gave us all the greatest laugh! Michael improved on it for ages, it was just totally hilarious. Yep there has been some bad behaviour in this thread, and it's former self, but going to see Michael McIntyre tops everything. Shocking behaviour that. |
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2016 8:14:38 GMT
I'm going back a bit here, but I was reminded yesterday as I went to the theatre in Chichester. A couple of years back we saw The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui with Henry Goodman in the title role in the Minerva Theatre.
A woman's mobile phone went off and rang for quite a few times before she fumbled and stopped it; being a small theatre I could see her clearly from the next block.
Then a few minutes later the phone went off again in the middle of a speech by UI. Without skipping a beat, and totally in his Hitler like character, Goodman swung round and said something like "who is making that noise, get that person out of here", the returned to the script without batting an eyelid.
I don't know if this had happened before and he was prepared, but it was almost like it was part of the play, and without reference to mobile phones or anything specific it didn't interrupt the play at all. It was actually rather chilling and I half expected storm troopers to come and drag the woman out.
Actually I think she did too, as I could see her flustered attempts to get her phone off with the help of the person in the next sea. Hope this was enough of a shock to make her turn her phone off in all future theatre visits.
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Post by Snciole on May 8, 2016 9:54:19 GMT
My friend sent me this. Bad behaviour has been going on for hundreds of years  |
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2016 10:19:04 GMT
Sncoile, I love this!
Society changes, conventions change, but people really don't.
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Post by Snciole on May 8, 2016 10:23:55 GMT
Ha! I was getting angry just reading it!! I think we should all have "An admirer of drama and frequenter of the theatre" in our signatures |
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Post by littleflyer on May 8, 2016 10:52:20 GMT
I have been at shows many times and been sat near people where clearly one of them doesn't speak very good English, so they then spend most of the show with some translating it to them! This can be extremely distracting and annoying for people around them. I don't speak any other language and for that reason I wouldn't pay out money to go and see a show spoke solely in French, for example, and then expect my French friend to translate the entire thing
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2016 12:45:58 GMT
It always annoys me at the end of a show to see people just abandon their empty wine glasses, ice cream tubs etc on the floor by their seats rather than taking 2 seconds to pick them up and drop them in a bin. Particularly so when I saw people doing this at the end of "The Flick".
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Post by lynette on May 8, 2016 13:45:12 GMT
I'm just being really painful here I know but last night at Hampstead, bloke in front kept leaning over to explain bits to his companion who was frankly more interested in her phone.
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Post by Jon on May 8, 2016 13:49:15 GMT
It always annoys me at the end of a show to see people just abandon their empty wine glasses, ice cream tubs etc on the floor by their seats rather than taking 2 seconds to pick them up and drop them in a bin. Particularly so when I saw people doing this at the end of "The Flick". Maybe they thought the cast would pick up their rubbish! In all seriousness, I think just leaving your rubbish is incredibly rude. |
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Post by theglenbucklaird on May 8, 2016 14:53:59 GMT
Ha! I was getting angry just reading it!! I think we should all have "An admirer of drama and frequenter of the theatre" in our signatures Lovely posts Snicole, I'm in |
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2016 18:31:19 GMT
Ha! I was getting angry just reading it!! I think we should all have "An admirer of drama and frequenter of the theatre" in our signatures Lovely posts Snicole, I'm in Me too! Or I would be if I could work out how to do it......thought I had, but perhaps not! |
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2016 18:53:19 GMT
Lovely posts Snicole, I'm in Me too! Or I would be if I could work out how to do it......thought I had, but perhaps not! You've done it! |
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Post by fiyero on May 8, 2016 22:16:15 GMT
Can we [cough] take a minute or two [cough] to talk about people who [cough] can't go a minute without coughing.
I've had it twice recently, the worst being last night at the tour of 39 steps at The Nuffield, Southampton. Before the show the guy was literally only going 30 seconds between coughing. He did a bit better in the actual show but still was coughing regularly. My glaring did nothing and I knew asking him to stop would be pointless. It was so distracting, I was already in a restricted view seat and couldn't move as it was sold out. What should I have done?
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Post by talkstageytome on May 8, 2016 23:35:36 GMT
Coughing is terribly annoying. Especially the throat clearing kind, which you hear all the time. I can forgive the odd sickly cough (so long as they're not so frequent that you have to start wondering why the culprit is at the theatre and not in bed or in hospital somewhere) because sometimes they can't be helped, but the throat clearing 'ahem', often is quiet dialogue scenes in the audience pretty much any show, are extremely irritating!
That being said, I'll always remember the horrific moment I had an awful, debilitating, dry coughing fit in the front row of Memphis. I had been ill the past week, but was feeling much better, and hadn't been showing any sick-y symptoms on the day, but halfway through act 2 I all of a sudden just couldn't stop coughing. Thankfully it was during a song, and was pretty much over by the end, but because we were on the front row I'm certain both cast and audience noticed it. I did have some water, and also considered leaving, but the cough was so violent that it was less disruptive to just stay where I was. Literally so embarrassing, I still have nightmares to this day. If I was in the audience I'd definitely be reporting it on this thread too!
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Post by 49thand8th on May 9, 2016 3:10:55 GMT
I have a friend who performed in some opera choruses several years ago (and is currently in a Bach choir) who has a theory that non-sick audience coughers do it just to focus the attention on them for half a second. I'm not sure how true this actually is, but I'm sure for some small percentage that might be part of it.
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Post by d'James on May 9, 2016 3:19:45 GMT
Some, maybe.
I would never draw attention to myself deliberately. I know it's the same for the majority of my family. However, sometimes a speck of something gets stuck in your throat and you cough - mortifying.
Sometimes water goes down the wrong way and it can sound like you're choking - equally as mortifying.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2016 9:34:36 GMT
Theatres are pretty dry places. I've had a cold, suffered mightily, recovered thoroughly, then gone into a theatre only to come down with an embarrassing coughing fit halfway through the show. I take cough sweets and water and do my best to keep it as non-disruptive as possible, but there's something about the air in a theatre that makes it extremely difficult not to cough, even if you're over your need to cough generally. Unless someone is clearly so unwell that they should be at home tucked up in bed, I am very sympathetic towards coughers. I'm not at ALL sympathetic to those disgusting people who feel the need to noisily snort mucus every fifteen seconds (or at all) rather than just blowing their nose though, that is not something you should ever do with people nearby because NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR IT.
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Post by Snciole on May 9, 2016 11:24:34 GMT
I've caught (yet another cold) and just exchanged a ticket because it is ****** annoying for me, for you, for everyone.
I understand why people just go when feeling rough. I usually book tickets LONG before I've had the cold and why O why don't theatres sell cough sweets.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 9, 2016 11:44:35 GMT
I have a friend who performed in some opera choruses several years ago (and is currently in a Bach choir) who has a theory that non-sick audience coughers do it just to focus the attention on them for half a second. I'm not sure how true this actually is, but I'm sure for some small percentage that might be part of it. Would explain why they a,ways do it in the most quiet moments. There's also the contagious cough. Someone coughs, usually in a quiet moment, and it spreads through the audience. Presumably people thinking "well THEY coughed so I'm going to now". |
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Post by profquatermass on May 9, 2016 12:11:47 GMT
I have a friend who performed in some opera choruses several years ago (and is currently in a Bach choir) who has a theory that non-sick audience coughers do it just to focus the attention on them for half a second. I'm not sure how true this actually is, but I'm sure for some small percentage that might be part of it. What a completely bizarre suggestion. Why would anyone think that? |
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2016 16:47:33 GMT
*Sigmoidoscopy: Medical technique in which a camera on a flexible tube is inserted via the anus to inspect the digestive tract. Alarmingly, the procedure is often referred to as a "flexible sigmoidoscopy", which leads to the suspicion that there is such as thing as an inflexible sigmoidoscopy, which doesn't bear thinking about. |
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