Crisps shouldn’t be allowed in the theatre

Totally agree. Watched “Six” at Stoke last weekend… just in a very sad slow ballad there was almighty rustle and crunch over my left ear! It’s only 80 minutes long ffs!! Why the need to eat at all?!

Why the fuck is it nasty to want to enjoy the performance? What a bloody weird attitude. I was very young when I started going to the theatre - still knew how to behave. Dear god 🙄.

@Catandsquirrel I think this particular theatre (like lots of others) has jumped on the bandwagon of having lots of tribute pop acts, comedy gigs, etc. to fill up the programme between the shows like the ballets, big musicals and plays it used to have. And those audiences clearly want popcorn, sandwiches and beer; but those things are more suitable for a different kind of bar or concert venue with hard flooring and so on, not a traditional theatre auditorium.

I can see exactly why they’re doing it, but I don’t honestly think you can do that to a traditional theatre and expect people to keep going to big expensive shows when the place stinks of spilt drinks and popcorn machines. You kind of have to have one or the other, or you have to put your foot down, and say yes we want to host the comedy and pop gigs because they keep the venue going, but we still aren’t going to sell fast food or allow patrons to drink at their seats like they’re at a bar.

Sandwiches and salads during the ballet! Why?! If I was a prima ballerina I'd pirouette over and gracefully boot any snacks out of the hands or noisy rustlers on the front row. A quiet ice-cream or drink, fine, I know it's part of revenue generation but who needs a whole spread to munch through?!

I actually think shows like Britain's Got Talent etc are the reason people no longer know how to behave in a theatre!

Don't be bloody stupid, I bet you are one of those fools who sit and eat all the way through any performance!

What's the point in performing if half the audience can't hear you??

Enough with the snark

Why do you think it's acceptable?

Exactly. Clods.

They can’t distinguish between a public performance and their own living room.

Never mind banning food in theatres , they should ban people! Seriously, I have had it with the talkers, slurpers, phone addicts, people filming/taking photos, pissheads, coke heads, influencers and “ We’re mad us “ singalong types.

Some people are just inconsiderate and self-absorbed. I don't go to the theatre or cinema any longer for this reason. I don't actually miss it, nothing would get me back there. Sooner or later they'll just be accommodating only this sort of person and they'll be happy as pigs in shit having found their own level and people.

Oh come on. It’s one thing not being precious about theatres, but yet another paying £50 per ticket for people to be eating sandwiches and salad boxes and drinking beer (and spilling it) all over the auditorium during the performance. It’s not a cafe FFS!

Theatres have carpets and upholstered seats for dampening noise in the auditorium, so food spills and smells are time consuming and expensive to get out. Since the particular theatre I mentioned started allowing beer and other drinks in the auditorium, the entire place has that piss smell of stale beer that clearly can’t be cleaned. That’s why cafes and bars generally have hard flooring and pubs stopped having carpet.

I don’t want to pay £150 to take my daughter and mum to the ballet for a treat, and sit for three hours in a stench of hummus, garlic mayo and stale pissy beer the whole time whilst crunching stale popcorn underfoot. If I wanted to eat my dinner at a performance, I’d watch a DVD. It’s disgusting and really antisocial and the venues shouldn’t do it. What’s wrong with some ice cream or chocolate in the interval? I’ve been going to that theatre since I was a kid and now won’t go again. Really disappointing.

Agree. No food should be the rule during live performances of any sort. Eat beforehand if you’re that hungry.

I feel exactly the same. I no longer go the cinema as people just can’t behave anymore, same on public transport. Why can’t people go for a couple of hours not eating or talking, or looking at their phone. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Last couple of gigs people seem to be more bothered about being pissed (and I like a drink) and viewing it through their phones.

Hell is other people.

Common complaint.
I know that several friends, and myself, are very slow to pay for tickets to things because increasingly since Covid, people simply do not know how to behave at public venues.
In and out to the loo, drinks, crunching loudly, simply too stressful to be amongst.
No thank you.

If I had my way I would ban eating in performances and cinemas altogether

It was an older audience that ruined my Christmas present visit to the theatre. Up and down for drinks and the toilet. But I think generally that some people just don't know how to behave in public anymore.

Agree totally. If you can't stop stuffing yourself with noisy crisps and sweets at the bloody theatre go back to the cow barn you were born in.
Disgusting behaviour in the theatre.
The cinema is bad enough.

Food shouldn't be allowed in the theatre. I once paid a lot of money to see a play at The Globe and a pair of arseholes ate throughout the first half right by my ear.

They then threw the wrappings on the floor, including cans, that blew around for the second half.

I went to the theatre last night, not to see a play but it was ‘An evening with…’ with talking and some music by a legendary artist. I was aghast at the rudeness of the audience, who were mostly 60+. Some had obviously been expecting a concert and there were numerous rude women who were just sitting having long, loud conversations with their friends. Rustling bags, ring-pulls popping, texting, phones ringing every two minutes. It was honestly like being in a pub!

It was really difficult to hear the show above the background noise. Forgive me for sounding ageist, but I expected better behaviour from older people (I say that as an older person myself).

My experience is different. One I visit fairly often allows you to take in the drink you bought during the interval, but in a plastic glass. Local art cinema allows glasses but no-one was eating crisps etc - I don't know if they allow food but I saw none - they have an onsight restaurant though. I can't think why you would want to eat while watching a play but I suppose it gives a sense of authenticity to Shakespeare and friends, since food, drinks, oranges etc were on sale during the original performances! Perhaps we have got a bit precious about theatres? I.e. I have thought about this a bit.)

I think for delicate ears you could just say ears.

I agree OP. Let the venue know how much it spoiled your enjoyment, vote with your feet.

YANBU. I felt bad eating a bag of particularly crunchy crisps in an open plan office last week, to the point where I'll try to avoid a repeat. Eating them in the theatre is not on.

It is very annoying. We were at the ballet recently and the rustling was ridiculous. I was with my 6yo and I made sure that the snacks she had were decanted into a Tupperware so no rustling of packets at all.

any eating should be restricted