Bad Behaviour at a Show

It isn't bad behaviour, but it is inconvenient in the limited space that many theatres have front of house to store a number of large suitcases. Theatre cloakrooms are generally TINY and can barely accommodate enough regular coats and bags.

One or two big cases out of an audience of several hundred? Fine. But as a patron I would do everything possible to avoid doing it.

Outrageous but not surprising.
Bag searches for alcohol. Drunk people refused entrance. Stop selling alcohol to the seats. Theatres need to get a grip of this.
I refuse to book for ‘certain’ shows as I know I’ll get annoyed at wasting my money because of entitled babies who refuse to follow any rules.
Now it’s creeping into other shows.
Also Alison Hammond, Vanessa Feltz, Dermot O’Leary on a mainstream TV programme making out they think it’s acceptable to sing a long is irresponsible and just adds to the sense of ‘I’ve paid my money I can do what I like’
All three of them know exactly what the expectations are in a theatre unsure what they were hoping to gain by taking this stance other than bad publicity.

Yes sale of alcohol needs to be addressed, but people arrive intoxicated.
Unfortunately nobody gets paid enough money to really deal with these thugs. How can a young person of 20 years be expected to deal with such aggression.

I am sure that is the case for some of the behaviour but I doubt the "ladies" literally screaming the lyrics out were influenced by that. More so from excessive bank holiday drinking.

It really is time for theatres to buck up and start dealing with the bad behaviour through zero tolerance. If you're drunk, behaving like a feral chav, heckling the cast or audience (unless it's a "heckle" type show) then you should be removed. There's nothing to stop theatres buddying up with other local businesses to share/borrow security, or for a security firm to offer a "bouncer on demand" type of service. It is the minority (as usual) creating the aggro, but these people need dealing with. If they can't handle their booze or are simply exhibiting a sense of over-entitlement, they need to be given one single warning that any further bad behaviour will result in their removal. Very many people are reluctant to intervene in public disorder situations, but the recent incident at Bat Out Of Hell showed that a few people making a stand is enough to persuade theatre management to act. On the same evening, I politely asked the person in front of me not to record the show on her phone, and she put her phone away and apologised.

I'm going to sound terribly old-fashioned, but one of the lovely things about theatre is the escapism. It feels like a special world away from the outside, and - effectively - the plebs who cause problems deliberately choose to smash the fourth wall, with complete disregard for the actors and audience around them.

The other bugbear that winds me up are people filming shows. At the recent final performance of Bat Out Of Hell, there was a lady in the front row (left hand side three seats in if theatre management are reading) who was recording the show on a camera/phone, that was tucked inside her cleavage. Being sat in the side box above the stalls, it was very obvious to me and I imagine it was to the actors on stage. So when a big number with lots of effects took place, her buxom lit up like a Christmas tree from the screen on the device. The biggest giveaway wasn't so much her own display of the northern lights, but her reluctance to raise her arms to clap like every other person in the theatre. Her arms stayed rigidly by her side and claps were clearly "muted" - presumably to avoid ruining her recording. I only hope that something went wrong with the sound or the recording, as I think this is a total liberty. Again, alert front-of-house staff might have dealt with her. Ironically, FOH reprimanded her equivalent on the other side of the front row, so I wonder if they were tipped off but got the wrong side.

Honestly, I remember when the MEN was a decent newspaper, who would never have taken any sort of stance that encouraged this behaviour. But here we are. And now, for some ludicrous reason, the lead actress is feeling the need to apologise:


www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/bodyguard-lead-star-says-very-26657829#source=breaking-news

They didn't cause the phenomenon existing in society. However there is evidence that they did contribute very significantly to causing what happened last night. A member of Front Of House tweeted that audience members had specifically quoted This Morning in justification/validation of their behaviour. Feltz, Hammond, O'Leary have powerful platforms to speak from - there's no Twitter pile-on, it's a Right To Reply.

There's an argument happening on other social media platforms at the moment that people go to these types of jukebox musicals for the express purpose of singing along. My POV is that the majority of the audience is there to see and hear the professionals - if we wanted amateur night, we'd go to a karaoke bar. I haven't been to a jukebox musical since Movin' Out, and this is reinforcing that decision.

We’re snobs apparently. Some bizarre opinions from people who think it should be a free for all. Including some performers.

The This Morning segment was vile and the Twitter pile on is absolutely justified. It should never have been broadcast because there is no debate to be had. You do not sing along in a theatre, ever, unless it's a singalong or the encore. It was a disgusting insult to theatre, actors and audience, and they reinforced the kind of anti social behaviour exemplified in The Bodyguard incident. They ought to be ashamed of themselves, and should broadcast an apology and retraction of their comments about singing along.

Hammond has made a career out of being a buffoon. To hear her saying “I don’t even want to see that show now” doesn’t surprise me, and frankly Alison I don’t The Bodyguard would want you to attend. 

Vanessa Feltz is usually a bit more intelligent but the stuff she gets involved in selling on IG and TikTok suggests she’s an attention seeker who’ll do anything for a fee. And she seems to forget that while she’s performing on her daily 3 hour radio platform she has the ultimate privilege and power to shut anyone up by dumping a call or ending an interview. 

I remember seeing her and then-husband Ben swanning around at opening night of Mary Poppins pre-pandemic. I certainly hope her invitations dry up after this debacle!