Rude people in the theatre

Apparently he starts a song so the doors are closed. Song ends, doors are opened and people go in/out. But I was told it was lots of people and he eventually did comment that was this something peculiar to the city?

Andre Rieu was irritated by audience members constantly getting up, going in and out.

Did he stop the music & say something? That’s about the only thing I can imagine having an effect - threatening to do that each time someone came in or out.

You would think so but people buying 10 pound pints and 20 pound pizzas then complaining about the cost. They could have gone somewhere before the show.

My neighbour works at a large arena on event stewarding and fan services and has some funny/shocking tales of audience behaviour and entitlement. And it's often older audiences eg 50 upwards who are the worst. Gaga was on recently and he said it was a fantastic night with everyone ready to party and enjoy themselves. Mary Blige was a feral audience with drug/drink behaviour, vomiting and a man grabbing breasts (he was ejected). I'm told rock audiences are the staff favourites as everyone comes to watch the band. Apparently Slipknot fans make their own masks and asked politely if it was ok to bring it in and wear it. Andre Rieu was irritated by audience members constantly getting up, going in and out. Sports events eg boxing are chaos with fights breaking out, cocaine everywhere in the toilets, doors smashed and attendees ejected.

I'd of told her myself to shut up or leave.

There's always the panto!

I can't bear it ...

I've suffered through a couple because I took the dc and I do remember thinking it was fun as a child. But now I grin and bear it 😬

The food thing happens all the time exactly like you’ve described! I saw Six the musical which is 80 minutes long with no interval, it was mid afternoon and people couldn’t go that long without stuffing their faces all the way through and making so much noise, passing food along the line to each other etc. Just have lunch before you go in!! 🤯

One woman behind me thought it was acceptable to kick her shoes off and plonk her smelly feet by my shoulder!! I gave her the look and she removed them. Yes is was a very hot day and we were up in the gods but how rude!

Edited for typo

YANBU, OP. Took my DD to a west end musical (not my sort of thing but she likes them) and I was shocked at how people behaved. The big one for me was everyone around us ate ALL the way through both halves. Leaving aside the fact that I think people should be able to manage a couple of hours with snacking, what infuriated me was that these were not quiet things either: bags of crisps, popcorn and sweets in wrappers. The parents were as bad as the kids. And someone behind me allowed her child to talk loudly all the way through too, and didn’t shush him once.

It was disrespectful to the actors, as well as to those who actually want to hear what they are paying a lot of money to hear.

But the staff did nothing, and in the interval I saw that they were selling some of these items. I will do my best never return to a theatre which sells those items and does nothing about patrons making noise.

I do find behaviour at other more traditional theatres better (The National, Old and Young Vic etc) but even there I have seen consideration for others deteriorating. I once had to shush a man who was eating raw crunchy carrots! Honestly, what is wrong with people??

I agree with the comments and have experienced rudeness myself.

I wonder though is there a call for more of the old fashioned music hall type entertainment where there was a back and forth with the audience/heckling/a sing along/general knees-up? Perhaps people want to participate and there should be (more) formats where this is a thing?

And it might keep the riff-raff out of more serious theatre.

That's good. It just bad manners to use phone during show.

I asked a man in cinema, to please not use his phone, because the light from it affected our watching the film (he was scrolling and liking and listening to tic toc crap). He huffed and puffed for ages then went to the end of the row and continued (but least not in our eyeline) leaving his child (about 5) sat watching. He couldn't manage a children's film without scrolling.

but when it’s someone sneakily videoing the show on their phone or texting or chatting loudly, the FOH staff will ask them (often repeatedly) to stop, and will hover right by their row to dissuade them - but some people just won’t be told.

This is a ridiculous policy - any initial request should come with a deadline and then a consequence - ‘please turn your phone off / stop talking through the performance/film - if this happens one more time you will be told to leave’

Also think that cinemas/theatres should ask up front for considerate behaviour - no phones, no chatting etc and also ask audience to politely remind others to be quiet / turn off phone and if there is an offensive response which is what we all fear - then the usher will tell them to leave.

Zero tolerance is what is needed and blurry boundaries tolerating this ‘lower level’ behaviour is what’s allowed the whole expectations of behaviour to drop.

I think the problem is probably that the churches are so glad to have anyone these days they dare not put them off!

It is sad - and very disrespectful as it was obvious the family had come to create instagrammable Christmas content, not to really be there. As you say, rude and selfish.

Why should the patrons who've paid do the job of us who are paid?

Not the same in every theatre but I know we have been working on how we can deal with the audience management, getting new signage for example to encourage correct behaviour and we do throw people out when their behaviour becomes too bad

Sadly, that does come with abuse. I've seen colleagues cry because people are so vile to them. Others are so ridiculous that they are staffroom legends as a joke. I've got reviews online slagging me off, as have colleagues, for enforcing the rules. I don't care, I want people who've come out to enjoy their night out and not have it ruined by rude people.

That's why they are changing their advertising to move away from "ultimate party" types.

Most of them also include an announcement telling you not to singing along

My DS works front of house at one of the big West End Theatres and the behaviour of some patrons drives him potty. The problem is when it’s low-level annoyance rather than something really bad - if someone is shouting or causing a major disturbance, the security team will step in and remove them straight away, but when it’s someone sneakily videoing the show on their phone or texting or chatting loudly, the FOH staff will ask them (often repeatedly) to stop, and will hover right by their row to dissuade them - but some people just won’t be told. And then other patrons complain to the FOH team about the bad behaviour… it’s never ending! Baffles me - West End tickets are so expensive, I don’t know why you’d go if you weren’t interested in the performance!

There was a time when the usher could enforce the rules but as a society we’ve eroded soft authority. Can you really expect someone working for minimum wage, or not much more, to take on a person who is already violating social boundaries and more likely than most to kick off violently?

Why did you, and your fellow patrons not deal directly with this person?

I’m not suggesting you should, or should have to. But you probably have more soft power in that situation than an usher does.

In several theatres in Edinburgh, they have removed people behaving this way. At one point, they stopped a show and police came to remove a group of people who were being disruptive and then aggressive towards staff.

It's very disrespectful and infuriating when you've spent a lot to see a show and idiots ruin the experience.

@Calliopespa I'd love to see these rowdy kids try that behaviour in front of my old Sunday School superintendent!

There are so many ignorant, selfish people around these days.

To be fair, some jukebox musicals do sell themselves as a party atmosphere and a great night out like a concert in their publicity.

I first saw it sat in the round ten years ago. Someone about six inches away from.the actors on stage constantly on her phone in the front row. US tourist. Most of the audience could see her phone lit up let alone those on stage. One of the actors improvised and told her off in character and everyone applauded. She switched her phone off then and I hope she felt mortified.

I experienced a knob head, drunken idiot audience shit show at a Stewart Lee show years ago at the Lowry in Salford.

It was terrible and l dont know how Stewart Lee didn't walk off to the stage.

Also had to turn around and tell a really stupid gob shite of a women to shut up. She wanted to talk all the way through a John Cooper Clark Show.

We can all.leave our phones on accidentally.

But anybody who starts to talk through is theatre or cinema for performance for that matter. Should be given a verbal warning..Then if they do it again

Stop the show and remove them.

And stop these shameless munters,from spoiling our hard earned enjoyment.

How can you agree with 99% of what people have said on this thread about people eating, making noise, distracting at cinema and theatre etc and then not see that someone chowing down on a sloppy, slurpy, hot, smelly burger inches from your face whilst you are trying to concentrate on a film in a confined space is the absolute worst and experienced as anything other than gross by the person sat inches from you. I don’t agree that just because The Everyman sell this type of hot food in these circumstances makes it any less tolerable or ignorant.

Theatres are struggling for audiences. Not surprising given the prices for some of them. They are just pleased people are coming to see the play and are unlikely to kick out paying customers unless they are really disruptive. A bit of chatting and light phone use really does not qualify.

Of course the serious attendees might stop going I suppose. What should they pay so much for an experience they don't enjoy?