Booze in theatres

Quite!

ive worked in theatres and believe me when i say fights are not as uncommon as you might think! especially in relation to certain type of shows. Audience poor behaviour is a massive issue currently for the industry.

I can remember when interval drinks had to be drunk during the interval and you couldn’t take them into the auditorium. That seems to have gone by the book now.

It's usually people they look like they don't get out often (yes I'm making assumptions based on age and the type of show) and for a lot of people, not getting out often = getting twatted. Sad really.

But yes never had this at the NT or Old Vic etc

Drinking culture has always been an issue in the UK. If anything it’s getting slightly better with more people not drinking any alcohol at all.

I don’t know if there’s something specific about theatres going on.

I would cheerfully go back to the days of only water allowed in the auditorium. We had issues with people drinking during Player King's fgs.

Don't get me started on the crisps and popcorn. And the talking, the phones, the up and down to the loo....

Drink at the interval, bit of ice cream, job done. I'm 50/50 in the last twelve months on audience behaviour ruining shows, and they’re not cheap to attend. One especial highlight was the couple who talked ALL the way through the first half of Singing in the Rain, went on a sweary rant when they were finally asked to shut up by staff, then turned out to be in someone else's seats cause they'd fancied them more, and spent the first twenty minutes of act 2 shouting about that before finally stomping off in a huff.

You'd expect this at a Magic Mike, but not at any other type of performance unless specifically related to show, such as a sing-along sound of music or rocky horror show

To add, I think comedy is different and a couple of drinks are more acceptable. Our small local theatre sadly closed during covid but beforehand would only allow drinks into the auditorium for comedy, not for plays.

Conniebygaslight · Today 09:07
Meadowfinch · Today 08:06
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I've never experienced this. Maybe choose a different theatre.
We go to several theatres, always the same.”

What sort of shows are you going to?

I agree with OP. Interval drinks have always been a thing, but it's not just interval drinks now, it's all the way through the performance in the auditorium drinks.

We went to see The Plaza Suite earlier in the year at the Savoy Theatre and they made a big thing of champagne packages. There was constant clinking of bottle against glasses, chinking of glasses, bits of conversation, at one point a steward stumbled backwards into a whole load of empty glasses that had been left on the floor. Really distracting, but admittedly could be partially solved by using plastic or bamboo 'glasses' rather than glass.

Agree with a poster above though, none of the same issues at the National Theatre curiously.

I'm really curious where you have been going OP - we go to the theatre a fair amount, but I've never experienced what you have described. I've not been to a comedy night, but I would imagine drinking would be encouraged by the venue at such events, so the audience is well-oiled for the comedian?

There’s a massive difference between ordering a drink at the interval and getting drunk! Yes, it’s shameless selling of huge amounts of booze prior to the show. @Sherwil16 Was James Norton good? The Savoy is quite an intimate theatre. Not much room.

Just realised your username and had a small chuckle to myself as I met Kris at a social event many moons ago. He was a riot!

I went to see A Little Life ( starring James Norton) at the Savoy Theatre last year. Tickets for the matinee performance were over £100 and very hard to get. We were sent an email a week before the performance asking us to arrive almost 2 hours before start time to ensure a comfortable and non- crowded entry into the theatre. We were also told that a champagne vending machine would be available in the theatre, probably the real reason why we were encouraged to arrive ridiculously early. Shameless money making.

The other issue is people spilling their drinks as there’s no shelf for the glasses. There’s mess all over the floor. It’s for theatres to stop it. They allow the comfort of the majority to be compromised. Not acceptable in my view.

I like musicals! They are high quality. Well in London anyway! Not so much at my local theatre. It definitely depends on target audience, show and location I think. The other huge irritation is the sing-along member of the audience who should also be removed.

I am certainly aware that more people drink in their seats and eat too. We’ve not seen anyone very drunk but the drinkers cannot stop drinking! Yes, booze was always avsilable in the interval but drinking vast amounts in your seat is relatively new. Rarely saw it even 10 years ago.

We have seen someone ejected. At a performance by the Ballet Rambert in Edinburgh! He started arguing with other people about something and a couple got up and left; presumably they reported him on the way out. He was in a wheelchair which made it surreal in a way. At least it was dealt with.

The Royal Opera House doesn’t allow drink in the auditorium. Nor latecomers in. It’s bliss. No singing along either.

Yes, true, but being pissed and interrupting performances, singing, being on phone, disturbing others is a relatively new phenomenon.
Such people are just ignorant and should have lifetime bans from theatres.
Or not be surprised when someone turns round and gives them a smack on the chops

People have always drunk at the theatre, but the ability to order drinks to your seat mid performance and the general pushing of more alcohol is new. I go reasonably often, on various mailing lists etc. There's much more mention of alcohol than there used to be.

Maybe go to a better quality shows... I sort of expect this behaviour in musicals and comedy shows. I doubt anyone has ever done something like that during Hedda Gabler performance...
The only time I ever experienced what you are describing is when my work colleague arranged for us to go to the Dirty Dancing the musical for her birthday. But it was shit of the show anyway.

Well actually there was an incident fairly recently reported locally to where I live in which a fight broke out between a group of drunken women in a theatre. I was a bit incredulous but OP has just corroborated that this is an actual thing.

We sometimes go to watch tennis and have been amazed at the amount of drinking that goes on there during the matches. A group of people sat next to me at a match last year had smuggled in literally bottles and bottles of wine. They were more focused on sharing out the drink than on the match. They didn't fight but were drunk and were constantly needing to go past for the toilets. It was very distracting.

I'm with the OP. I think it's sad people think they can't enjoy anything without alcohol. And the point is their enjoyment of drinking is quite often to the detriment of the enjoyment of the event for other people. When people are drinking they often are unaware or actually don't care about how it affects other people.