Bad Behaviour at a Show

Vanessa was one of the “of course audiences should be allowed to sing at musicals, that’s what they’ve bought their ticket for” brigade wasn’t she, along with Alison Hammond. 

Ooh what have you seen?

Sounds familiar actually - I might have been there! What show was it?

I went to see stranger things tonight and the behaviour was just not great 😅 The two people in front of me spoke the whole way through act 1 (they'd had a touch to drink) and I asked them during the interval to stop and they told me they don't remember talking....but they were fine the second act so all was well!
Through the whole show there was multiple people taking photos (one with flash), sitting on their phones for extended periods of time, and it just really ruined the show. Tried to tell the usher during the interval and he tried at the beginning of act 2 and then it kept going on!
Oh well!

or nice enough to be their forever home either!

Bizarre and brief, rather than badly behaved moment at Next To Normal last night. Perfectly silent wife and husband behind me, not a peep from them all first act... second act starts and Diana's 'treatment' sequence is about to begin. I feel the wife behind me lean really far forwards and she, quite loudly and excitedly, exclaims "oooh here we go!!!!".

Myself and a few others did a little bemused turn of the head towards her direction, and then they went back to being consummate audience members. So strange! I often experience little moments like that right after an interval, it's like people haven't clicked back into show mode yet.

Truly baffling behaviour at Hello, Dolly on Friday night.

Man sat on the aisle in B21 resolutely refusing to stand up to let a woman get to her seat because she was “on the other side” of his row of 10 seats. She seemed to beg as the show was just about to start, and he just sat there, shaking his head and saying no repeatedly. So she then had to walk allllll the way back and then down.

A man on the front row seemed to try and help, but still he refused to stand up. Note: he got up fine at the interval, so it wasn’t a mobility issue.

Front of House came to speak to the man on Row A at the interval, but seemingly to reprimand him for telling the guy in Row B off.

What a farce!

It's taken me quite a while to be able to share this with anyone, but I experienced a really traumatic incident whilst seeing Opening Night at the Gielgud in April - It might actually fall more under 'despicable' behaviour rather than bad...

I've been living with an auto immune condition since I was a child (basically all of my life) that I manage quite well, but on bad days it can affect my mobility quite badly. This could probably be considered an 'invisible disability' as I look totally healthy on the outside and sing for a living, so I don't blame people for assuming that there's nothing wrong with me. I also kind of like it that way to be honest, as I'm far from a victim and don't let it rule my life. Unfortunately as a result of this though, I've had my fair share of really inconsiderate treatment whilst using the accessible toilets in theatres over the years, both from staff and patrons.

I went to see Opening Night alone with a day seat in April and had a really great seat in the front stalls. I wasn't feeling particularly well on the day and almost decided to leave it, but I had a rare day off and wanted to make the most of it. Unfortunately I really didn't enjoy the show, but I really rate Sheridan as a performer, so was enjoying being so up close to the stage regardless. During the interval I went to the accessible toilet in the front lobby and waited as there was someone in. A small queue started to form behind me, but just as the person in the loo was about to come out a woman came from the side and stood next to me, rather than behind in the queue. The lady had a walking aid, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt as she might not have been able to walk all the way back...but I was absolutely stunned by what she did next.

Just as the person in the toilet opened the door, the lady walked forward and barricaded herself in the door frame, making her arms and legs into an X shape, shouting "This toilet isn't for you, you're a disgrace!". I was absolutely in a state of shock and just looked at her with a stunned expression, she then repeated "You're not allowed in here, how dare you!". I said to her in a really shaky voice "I also have a disability, please let me through", to which she replied "You don't but I'll let you in because I'm a nice person, but it's not for you" and then swore under her breath, but I couldn't make out exactly what she said. I was literally shaking and felt like I was about to faint when I got into the toilet, but pulled myself together and decided I would speak to a FOH. I was having a really bad day with my illness as it was, but then being misunderstood and spoken to in such a way is a vile feeling.

When I opened the toilet door the woman was now at the front of the queue and barely gave me a moment to get out before barging in front of me. I then went and spoke to a FOH who was utterly disgusted by what I had told her and took me to speak to the theatre manager. I can't begin to say how lovely the manager was, obviously she couldn't reverse what had happened but she made me feel totally at ease and reassured me that I had done nothing wrong - You always have that self doubt in your mind when you have a disability that doesn't require a visible aid, it's quite hard to explain.

She also went on to explain that the accessible toilet wasn't exclusively for disabilities, but also for those who suffer from sensory issues and mental health disorders, so the woman's behaviour was totally unacceptable - thankfully another FOH who was standing near the bar witnessed what had happened and came over to back me up as I was explaining it. Just as we were speaking the lady left the toilet and I signalled to the manager that it was her. She then said she was going to speak to her and ask her to leave. I went back to my seat and never found out what the outcome was, but it totally ruined my evening and made me feel ill for days afterwards.

At the risk of sounding dramatic, this experience really affected me and I didn't go to a single other show as an audience member for the whole of May or June, as I was worried it would happen again. I finally decided to face my fear head on and went to see Kiss Me Kate alone at the start of July, but was literally feeling physically sick before it. Thankfully it was a great experience and I had nothing to worry about, but honestly this experience has totally affected me even to this day.

I'm sharing this now because I wanted to get it off my chest, but also just to say if anyone one else here suffers from an invisible disability, you're not alone despite how isolating it can feel. I've also experienced some amazing kindness over the years, so keep your head up and don't let it stop you from doing what you want to do, as people like the woman I experienced are usually the minority!

musicbox , that's terrible. Frankly if this was the USA you'd have been pressing the theatre to identify the person via their seat number and suing them. As it is, I wish they just knew the lasting effect this had on you - they should be utterly ashamed.

Regular tube travellers will be aware of the 'not all disabilities are visible' signage, and perhaps theatres could carry this on doors of accessible toilets. If they don't already it may be because it could open the way for lots of people to take advantage and jump the otherwise dreadful queues. However, any doubts or suspicions about users should be directed to FOH staff, never taken on by a grandstanding self appointed 'toilet security guard' like that awful woman.

It’s also true to say that the woman was pushing her luck because someone other than musicbox might have reacted very differently and given her a right gob full or worse. If she carries on with that sort of behaviour it’s a matter of time before someone does.

Top work from the ushers at the Wyndham’s who snagged someone filming in the first act of Next to Normal just now. No fuss, just pulled her out. Great stuff.

A friend of mine is currently on tour with his own show 'The Best of Tommy Cooper'.

During a recent show a member of the audience took pride in that he knew every gag, and would say the punchline loudly just before my friend did as the performer.

Although on one hand nice to have an enthusiastic audience member, on the other it was disruptive and annoying.