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Original poster

Rude and noisy people at the theatre give me the rage.

41 replies

Invasionofthegutsnatchers · 19/12/2021 17:34

Not just a quiet whisper but full blown loud conversation during a solo singing performance, endless noisy rustling of sweet wrappers, coughing, passing drinks around, zipping and unzipping bags, bloody crisp packets. Three separate groups of people either side and behind us. Surely if you want to take snacks in you bring something easy to eat? It's only 1.5 hours long, have your cellophane jangling party before or after? No bloody manners.

OP posts:

JinglePants · 19/12/2021 17:37

Absolutely agree! I spent £120 on tickets to Les Mis and the people behind us sang and talked and ate all the way through

spinachpie · 19/12/2021 17:40

Agree. Totally disrespectful to the performers and people who've come to hear the show without listening to their crap karaoke versions or lame gossip. And listening to noisy chewers, ugh! Just go a couple of hours without shovelling food down your gob.

Settingsss · 19/12/2021 17:41

This is why I stopped going, people are not capable without tucking in to a Fray Bentos every half hour. I would ban them all.

Settingsss · 19/12/2021 17:44

And throwing their coats on the back of the chair so it sits on my lap, it’s hot and stuffy enough thank you. And go to the loo before the performance. And arrive on time. And switch your phone off.

I need to be able to afford a box I think.

MajorCarolDanvers · 19/12/2021 17:45

@JinglePants

Absolutely agree! I spent £120 on tickets to Les Mis and the people behind us sang and talked and ate all the way through

Did you say anything to them? I would have challenged singing and talking.

mumofEandE · 19/12/2021 17:45

We went to see 'Only Fools' musical recently- now this will show me as massively snobby but the theatre was full of people who had never been to the theatre before - the group in front - 5 men and 2 women had bad BO (I was happy to keep my mask on) and were up and down all the way through and when they were sitting were chatting loudly
If it had been a 'normal' musical I would have said something
PS the show was a laugh!

Imdreamingofapeacefulxmas · 19/12/2021 17:48

Yesterday I had the torture of a slow rustle that was unmistakable, old tin foil, reused a million times.

Settingsss · 19/12/2021 17:49

@Imdreamingofapeacefulxmas

Yesterday I had the torture of a slow rustle that was unmistakable, old tin foil, reused a million times.

cheese and ham roll?

underneaththeash · 19/12/2021 17:51

Tell them to shut up. If they won't get complain and they'll be removed.
We had the same issue with Hamilton a couple of years ago. Guys kept singing, I asked them to be quiet twice, they wouldn't so went and got a manager who told them if they weren't quiet they'd be asked to leave.

AgentProvocateur · 19/12/2021 17:52

This is why I stopped going to popular shows at big theatres. People don’t know how to behave in public any more.

CharlotteGoldenblattYork · 19/12/2021 17:53

We went to see Back to the Future a few weeks ago. The show was fantastic and I'd highly recommend it. However there was a group of 6 adults in front of us that literally all kept standing up and swapping seats for the whole performance. So weird! And annoying!

Original poster

Invasionofthegutsnatchers · 19/12/2021 17:58

I really think a lot of people haven't been taught how to behave at the theatre. Or more likely they don't give a shit. I did a bit of performance parenting with my 11 year old and we had a hammed up conversation about how it was good we'd been to the cafe before the performance for a snack and a chat. Childish bit mildly amusing and prevented me from raging at strangers.

OP posts:

CurlyhairedAssassin · 19/12/2021 18:00

@mumofEandE

We went to see 'Only Fools' musical recently- now this will show me as massively snobby but the theatre was full of people who had never been to the theatre before - the group in front - 5 men and 2 women had bad BO (I was happy to keep my mask on) and were up and down all the way through and when they were sitting were chatting loudly If it had been a 'normal' musical I would have said something PS the show was a laugh!

I know I shouldn't know what you mean and agree with you but I do. I wonder if they're people who tend not to be regular theatre goers and so the only live entertainment they're used to is at a club or in a hotel entertainment space where you can get up and down from your seat to go to the bar and have a chat during it?

It has got worse over the last few years. I've noticed it in the cinema too. Whole families sit down and it's chomp chomp, natter, natter, shuffle, shuffle, rustle, rustle, up and down to the toilet. So fucking annoying I've stopped going to films that may appeal to families with kids. James Bond was fine the other week but last family film I saw was Fantastic Beasts and the behaviour (and rubbish left behind) was absolutely horrendous. Made me embarrassed for them that they didn't know how to behave and they didn't even realise it either.

Viviennemary · 19/12/2021 18:01

Its a nightmare. I was in front of a child at a ballet. Mother was explaining all the time the story and what was happening. I turned round and glared at them. I felt bad for the child but it was deadly silence from everyone only this constant running commentry in a stage whisper. She stopped. It was an evening performance. Another child was opposite not a peep out of anyone.

Original poster

Invasionofthegutsnatchers · 19/12/2021 18:02

It always galls me that the adults are the ones making the most bloody noise when they should be the ones teaching their kids how to behave. You sit down, shut up and enjoy the show!

OP posts:

RomainingCalm · 19/12/2021 18:04

I don't know why people bother buying tickets to some of these things if they are not even going to watch it.

We spent £££ on tickets for a sporting event - the person sitting next to me couldn't have seen more than 20mins of the game - they made 4x trips to the bar and 3x trips to (presumably) the loo. And every time they got up it meant that another 10 people had to stand up to let them out.

And applies equally to rustling, singing, swapping seats, chatting, phone pinging, slurping and noisy eating at the theatre. All bad manners.

roundtable · 19/12/2021 18:06

Aargh we just had this too. Matinée performance. Extended family sat behind us and all the adults were trollied (it was a kids show). They talked so loudly and needed the toilet constantly - because they were pissed. DH did turn around and ask them to be quiet in the end. Really irritating and selfish.

LoveGrooveDanceParty · 19/12/2021 18:06

Agree, people aren’t taught how to behave. I mean, people shouldn’t need to be taught, it should be fucking obvious that you simply consider those around you, but clearly a significant cohort of people do need to be taught.

I remember my Mum explaining etiquette to me whenever we went to a live performance as a child, right down to waiting for everyone else to clap when going to an orchestra performance, so that I didn’t inadvertently clap at the end of a movement.

RomainingCalm · 19/12/2021 18:07

@Invasionofthegutsnatchers

It always galls me that the adults are the ones making the most bloody noise when they should be the ones teaching their kids how to behave. You sit down, shut up and enjoy the show!

"Sit Down. Shut Up. Enjoy the Show."

Should be the new 'podium slogan' for theatres.

IHateCoronavirus · 19/12/2021 18:07

Oh my goodness yes! DS and I went to see hairspray recently, I’m supporting him with his gcse drama and we had three teen girls being v loud and giggly behind us. At least two sets of parents were with them, why on earth they didn’t pull them up on it I have no idea?!

JennyForeigner · 19/12/2021 18:07

So much rage about this I had to stop going to the cinema. It is a DARK room in which people have PAID SO MUCH MONEY to look at a single light source. Putting your phone on mute does goddamn of nothing if the screen is flashing away like a silent disco you disruptive OAFS.

RAGE.

Hbh17 · 19/12/2021 18:08

Food in theatres should be banned/confiscated. Unfortunately, they need the money from what they sell in house. But you are right that many people just don't know how to behave.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 19/12/2021 18:10

I think you do have to pick the type of performance to be honest if you want to ensure that the audience is quiet. There's quite a lot of "low-brow" shows nowadays, isn't there, for want of a better description, which isn't going to attract the same type of audience as Chekhov or a performance of Handel's Messiah.

I also think it's society in general. How many of us are guilty of scrolling on our phones while sitting at home watching the telly? How many kids and young adults have got used to very past-faced films with lots of action and special effects and get bored when the action slows down and there is an exploration of a relationship developing slowly between a number of different characters.

I was thinking how outdated Jaws appears these days to young people. I'm not talking about the plastic shark/crap SFX. I mean there aren't a lot of action scenes. It's about creating the switch in atmosphere from a calm, peaceful holiday town to tension and build up and an explor ation of the various characters motivations for the action they take. I think many young people would call it slow in parts. It's just what they're used to. If there's not much action happening to grab their attention they switch off a bit, I've noticed.

Original poster

Invasionofthegutsnatchers · 19/12/2021 18:11

It's even worse because I'm an infant school teacher and 100% of my instincts are screwing at me to be bossy and tell them to be quiet 🤫😑🙃

OP posts:

Echobelly · 19/12/2021 18:11

We went to see Hamilton in September and were sitting in back row of a section - there were some guys behind us with standing tickets who seemed to think that leaning over our heads and chatting at normal volume throughout the show was just fine, but I think eventually got the idea after we shushed them several times.

Because it's so popular I think it has quite a lot of first-time show goers who haven't ever been told how to behave in that setting.

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