Reasonable adjustments

I think as disability rights are enshrined in law and enjoyment of a musical is not YABU.

As another poster has said you don’t get any say in who attends the theatre alongside you, wether they are disabled and make noise or wear pungent perfume.

You could have spoken with the ticket office, explained that you were struggling and could you exchange your ticket for a different performance.

@moonspiral
Right but how are you going to force people to go to the "relaxed" performance
Obviously I would really hope that the vast majority of people would book a performance that best suited their needs in the first place. If you want or need to make noise then a relaxed performance would be better, if you require quiet in the audience then don't attend the relaxed shows.

I'm afraid in the context of there being a range of performance types available then those disturbing the rights of others go enjoy the show in an appropriate manner would have to be asked to leave. Someone that requires quiet in the audience shouldn't have their enjoyment ruined or be forced to leave and neither should those who need to make noise. This would work both ways btw so anyone who is trying to enforce silence in a relaxed performance should also be asked to leave as that wouldn't be appropriate.

Our local theatre has relaxed performances, at other times this wouldn't be allowed

I'm with @Melmimi28 - I have autism and would find this situation very hard

Until recently I managed care services for people with severe LD. I wouldn't have taken my service users to anything but a relaxed performance of a west end musical, because it wouldn't have been fair on the other attendees. Similarly I wouldn't have taken them to Claridges for lunch but we happily and regularly took them to more relaxed places, having spoken to the places first to check they were fine with it. That way everyone felt more comfortable.

It's not about hiding people away-I'm a huge advocate of the rights of the disabled-but it is about having some consideration all round.

You're starting to give off a "I'm not disabilist" vibe with all your friends and relatives

Yes if it was my job.

God that was mangled. Hope people can make sense of it.

Surely by definition a “relaxed” performance is a relaxing of the usual requirements/expectations of the audience in the theatre. This allows for more noise and movement than usual.

So the usual requirements/expectations are that you don’t make noises or move around during the performance.

Absolutely! My son has autism and loves the theatre. He would absolutely not cope with other people making noise or and hates it when other people sing along. We avoid re

I don't see this as a disablaxed performances like the plague but for others they're great. Likewise my mum is partially deaf and would really struggle to hear anything in the situation described.

I don't see this as a disability bashing thread because it's not a clearcut disabled access issue. It's looking at how a range of access needs are catered for in a setting like a theatre.

But would you do that if you worked there?

If it was in the terms and conditions that to attend performance a. as opposed to relaxed performance b. you need to be quiet then no why should the staff feel bad for asking them to leave.

Right but how are you going to force people to go to the "relaxed" performance.

@moonspiral
How does that change things though? When this group booked they presumably knew it was a "standard" performance and were happy to attend. What was going to happen to force them to go to the "relaxed" performance?
This is a ridiculously selfish approach. The group may well have been happy to attend the performance and may have been completely unaware of the disturbance they were causing other theatre goers but that doesn't mean it was the best option for them. A relaxed performance would obviously have been more appropriate.

I have an autistic friend who would really really struggle with a group like that making noise in the theatre. I also have several relatives (some disabled) with hearing difficulties that wouldn't be able to hear the show with that level of noise coming from the audience. Why is it fair that one group's needs or even preference trumps everybody else's?

They weren't misbehaving though? They weren't a rowdy group They were a group with complex needs communicating and self soothing (I imagine)
W
If you worked at yhe theatre would you feel comfy telling them to be quite, removing them?? Or asking at the time of booking if they were suitable for this showing due to their disability?

I wonder if instead of offering relaxed performances theatre need to start offering 'Quiet' performances. Where it is made clear that during a quiet performance you don't sing a long, eat rustly food, don't have children running around and if you can't be quiet for the duration of the show then that is not the showing for you.

I would book that show as my ASD needs minimal background noise.

Oh good. A disability bashing thread.

Exactly you can't go oh no sorry this performance isn't for you- go to this relaxed one instead. That's sick.

When you pay out so much for a ticket it's not unreasonable to actually want to hear and focus on the performance. Agree that there should be both relaxed performances and those with stricter rules about how you behave.

How does that change things though? When this group booked they presumably knew it was a "standard" performance and were happy to attend. What was going to happen to force them to go to the "relaxed" performance?

What if they were offered but this group decided not to go to it?, You can't force then too. What then?

My son would need reasonable adjustments but I would never expect these to prevent the enjoyment of others!
I think the organisers have got this wrong.

But the group didn't need a "more relaxed" performance they attended this one and enjoyed it presumably. Yes some people might have preferred a more relaxed performance but this group booked this performance.