Bad Behaviour at a Show

No question; the advertising is directly sanctioning that behavior. But absent that, people need to be aware of the norms of public behavior in various settings.

I've recently got back into going to the theatre and so far I've encountered the following:

At the Garrick for Orlando a stranger was sat in one of the seats I'd booked. As the friend I was meant to go with was unwell and the other seat I had a ticket for was unoccupied, I didn't make a fuss.

At Les Mis at the Sondheim I had noisy eaters a couple of rows in front as well as someone who kept checking the home screen on their phone.

Perhaps unsurprisingly &Juliet at The Shaftesbury Theatre was the worst one so far. I was totally fine with the big group whooping and cheering, but the couple in front of me who kept talking and pouring out wine into glasses mid show were getting on my nerves and I ended up telling them to be quiet. Thankfully they actually stayed silent after that (and stopped pouring the wine) and it didn't stop me absolutely loving the show.

I used to go to the theatre in London fairly regularly between 1999-2008 and aside from telling my Mum to stop singing during one musical (which she didn't take kindly to) I don't recall audience behaviour being so bad, helped by smartphones not being a thing.

Also, not the theatre, but I went to a preview screening of Matilda the Musical as part of the London Film Festival (run by the BFI). Unknown to me when I booked my ticket, the BFI had invited a load of school groups along. Virtually none of the kids were capable of sitting still for two hours, so my focus on the film was distracted by a constant stream of children getting up mid film. I also heard other audience goers had their seats kicked and heard children talking throughout.

Well this is a start/welcome move. Let’s see if there is any improvement….

www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/feb/14/no-party-uk-musical-ads-will-change-to-stop-bad-theatre-behaviour

Glad to see the tide might be turning, but it’s pretty disingenuous for ATG to point the finger at producers when the main place I see all that ‘dancing in the aisles’ stuff is in their own brochures.

It’s also ATG that make a big deal about their bars or Ambassador Lounges or whatever being open 1 hour+ before the show, and insist on continually trying to upsell seats as some kind of package with alcohol, often being sold by the bottle, with the Kit Kat Klub just taking it to the next level.

They try to sell you alcohol before you’ve even bought the damn ticket. It’s no wonder people treat it like a bar that just happens to have some live entertainment on.

I would love to see stricter rules. I am naturally an anxious person and I always notice every wandering to get a drink and ruining a song, playing on their phone or whispering. The ushers themselves can be irritating.

Unless the producers conducted market research that showed they are losing comparable revenue from people who don't go to the theater because of the disruptive behavior of others.

Or have 'party nights' (similar to the relaxed performances already offered) where booze could be consumed in the theater and party behavior was encouraged. Other nights, overconsumption would be monitored and no drinking at seats, with expectations for each disclosed from time of ticket purchase.

Maybe attention could be brought to the issue with a catchy label for the troublemakers... how about "loge louts" (after the soccer louts of the early 2000s)?

You're doing well - some places the security on the doors will take bottles of water off you. 

WHY do they sell crisps or popcorn at the theatre. Someone nearby loudly crunching their way through a tin of crisps during Valjean's Soliloquy and another person with their phone on full brightness scrolling through messages during Act 1.

Bless, not the venues I frequent. But I will practise my indignant old woman  act just in case.. 

Letter from Walter Paul (well-known in theatre circles in Glasgow) in The Herald newspaper, Glasgow:

I WAS angry and depressed to read Brian Beacom's article with regard to the behaviour of theatre audiences in Glasgow and Edinburgh ("Whatever happened to once-polite Scots theatre audiences?", The Herald, February 14). I have always loved the theatre, be it as an audience member, a director, a performer, a "techie" or a front-of-house assistant.
I saw my first theatre performance of Peter Pan at Glasgow's King's Theatre at the age of four, and likewise my first Gilbert and Sullivan opera at the Theatre Royal thanks to my mum and dad; they introduced me to the world of theatre, they bought tickets for me and my sister to join them and see wonderful performances of every type. I loved it.
And I was educated by them – on what to do in the theatre, how to appreciate every member of staff, from box-office assistants helping me to buy tickets to usherettes and ushers helping me to my seat; how to behave and when to applaud; even, as I grew older, to occasionally leave a performance if I did not enjoy what was happening onstage, but to leave at the interval so that I did not disturb or annoy other members of the audience.
The horrendous incidents which Mr Beacom reported sadly reflect our society just now, too, where in some instances our day to day lives are led by self-centred and ignorant people in positions of authority who attempt to tell us how to behave, but who in many cases have no intelligence nor common sense.
Certainly from what Mr Beacom and others say, the Ambassador Theatre Group must take some blame for audiences' behaviour in their theatres – ban drinking if customers do not know how to behave, ban drinking inside the theatre space itself, employ more house staff who have the power to immediately evict the horrible, ignorant and selfish people who now seem to be attending theatres, especially musicals, and ban them from all future shows when they attempt to book seats.
Please educate from a young age, by teaching basic manners, basic good behaviour, basic general knowledge – and introduce not only youngsters who are our future theatre audiences, but also the current audiences for every type of performance, to the wonders of the theatre, and more importantly how to behave and respect this unique experience.
Walter Paul, Glasgow

I think there was a half-hearted attempt at a pre-show announcement this afternoon at the ATG-owned Liverpool Empire. Right before the start of the show they played a recording, like in cinemas where the ringtones build to a crescendo and they tell you to turn your phone off. Except that the Empire only played three. And that was it. No actual announcement, just three ringtones and straight into the overture. And it wasn’t even that loud so I doubt most people even noticed.

I’m at Les Mis tonight, funnily enough in the dress circle at the end of a row - if any of this happens I’ll certainly be asking them to just sit down and be quiet! 😡