Police called to theatre after audience sang over cast

[SnottyLottie]

According to this news article, 2 people were evicted by security and there was a “mini riot” after the show was stopped 10 minutes before the end (and ultimately cancelled) because a handful of the audience were singing over the cast. Police were called (riot vans included).

https://news.sky.com/story/police-called-to-disturbance-at-manchester-palace-theatre-during-the-bodyguard-musical-after-audience-tried-to-sing-over-cast-12852504

What do we think? Over reaction or perfectly reasonable response? I’d be furious to have the show stopped and cancelled 10 minutes before the end because of a handful of disrespectful idiots!

I went to see a musical a couple of weeks ago. Woman in front of me had her phone out more times than I could count. Then her and her whole family started singing. My friend and I have found a couple of seats we really and which usually have no one around them (theatre usually less than half full). I would advise that if you’re a regular theatre goer. Unfortunately on that ocassion it didn’t work.

God I feel old saying this but it seems to me that a significant number of the British public have no idea of how to behave and have absolutely no concern for how their behaviour impacts on others.

People genuinely don't know or care how to behalf in public anymore.

I'm sure if was a lot more than quietly singing along in tune too.

There's a better video on twitter taken from the balcony and judging by the response of the audience. They two being removed were highly disruptive and detracting from their enjoyment of the show.

We went to the cinema last week and there were 2 teenage boys shouting and screaming throughout. 10 people reported them - all had the full parties tickets refunded. The manager refused to look when I pointed out the boys (craned his neck to avoid seeing them" and said "I am not interested".

There really isn't a solution to this. Theatres have tried to appeal to wider audiences in order to stay afloat and that entails people who have never been to a play before, and have no idea how to behave at one. The singalong/karaoke musicals that do allow singing only confuse the issue.

One solution could be to have an announcement on stage at the beginning what the expectations of audience behaviour are, and that ANY infringement, no matter how minor, will result in the show being stopped and the offender being ejected from the theatre, using as much force as is necessary. It wouldn't take too many instances of this to get the message across.

I think ChocHotolate has a very good point - theatre is expensive, the majority of theatre goers will go to one maybe two 'popular' musicals a year often based on film or pop and absolutely treat it as a concert.
I saw "SIX" a few months ago - astounding the amount of singing and phone usage during the performance. Yet went to 'mousetrap' last week and the audience was far better behaved.

I think we might have to give in and to accept this as the norm.

Rules and good order are based on the principles of consent and compliance. When I was a child an usher would shine a torch at trouble makers and evict them. But that authority is illusory and has been largely eroded over time.

Nowadays an unarmed, minimum wage worker, is not going to take on a troublemaker. Even security guards are circumspect.

It’s the nature of the times. If you want to enjoy professional singers instead of a drunken sing a long, stay home and buy the mp3.

Unless audience participation is actually being invited and encouraged, just sit down and shut up! No "small amounts" of warbling and jiggling around. Sit down and shut up!

I saw a show a few weeks ago and they asked at the beginning for people not to sing along. Going to the theatre is not what it used to be - people cannot last for more than 5 mins without a noisy snack. It costs so much money to go and can be ruined by a few arseholes.

Anyone that is ruining the show for the performers and the audience should be removed from the theatre.

Some people have no idea how to behave in the theatre. I had to walk out of a performance of Swan Lake (evening not matinee), because 2 women in front of us were constantly talking and rustling food wrappers. Surely they can sit through a couple or hours performance without incessantly stuffing their faces and talking! I don’t bother going any more. The theatre is a complete nightmare nowadays, full of bloody idiots.

I was at the palace in Manchester with family. Paid hundreds to watch Dirty Dancing, was like a drunken hen party. Totally spoiled by a minority of yobs. Complained and staff did nothing.

But you are paying to hear professional singers I consider it bad behaviour.

At moulin rouge ( which I loved ) they made it clear no singing until the very last section when you can stand up dance and join in with the cast .

I was surprised why they had to explain , but now I understand why .

Audiences wandering around, eating, bantering with the cast and singing along were the norm in Shakespeare's time. Of course tickets were much cheaper then. I think it sounds like fun; more like a football match.
Nowadays, we pay a fortune to venerate and respect performers. Maybe this is better, or maybe we should remove the seating and sell cabbages to throw at the actors. 😉

It's indicative of how selfish people have become. If it doesn't affect them personally they don't see why they should change their behaviours.

Someone mentioned about not getting dressed up to go out. This has really surprised me in recent years. Going out used to be an occasion and you would put effort into your appearance and behaviour because it was a treat. Now, as the pp described, it's treated no differently than a trip to the supermarket and it saddens me.

Couldn't agree more @Allezvite, people pay to hear the professional singers sing not people who couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.

Other posters are right too, a seemingly large number of people these days don't know how to behave with consideration for others, there is a very selfish, entitled, I will do what I like vibe about.

We went to see Hamilton last week and it was insanely good. But the people next to my DH were asked to leave about 10 mins in because the 8 year old was talking so loudly (I know she was 8 because she was wearing a badge saying 'I'm 8 today') it was so distracting and they stopped the production, they were asked to leave and then the cast came back on and started again.

She didn't want to be there anyway. She was asking to go to pizza express so loudly.

I think complete ban on singing along-you are there to enjoy the actors singing, not to give the people sat next to you a performance. Ofcourse clap, laugh, cheer etc at the appropriate times, but singing along loudly is just rude.

I imagine they weren’t called because people were singing, but because anti-social behaviour was pissing people off and it escalated to violence

And yet theatres make alcohol so readily available. I think it's a relatively recent phenomenon that people are allowed to have drinks while they are in their seats. Years ago you had 10 minutes of interval time to down your g&t then that was it. I went to a west end show recently and loads of people sitting around me had bottles of wine, plus boxes of food that were on sale at the theatre. So then you have the inevitable clinking of bottles/glass and trips to the loo during the performance. And I really don't want to sit in such close proximity to someone who is juggling a bottle of champagne and stuffing their face with olives and cold meat. Not when I've paid a small fortune for my seat!

I think there has to be stronger announcements at the beginning as some people do seem to think that a "small amount" of singing is just fine. It's not.

Unless it is a clearly advertised "singalong" version of the show, the announcement at the beginning about people being thrown out for photography/videoing needs to be followed by "and singing along is not permitted at this performance".

That’s a concert ?not musical theatre ?

Your enjoyment of the show should never ruin others - there is a difference between a small amount of singing and dancing quietly along at points and clearly standing and drowning out the leads

No there isn't. Both are unacceptable.

I don't see why people think it's easy to get confused between sing a long and normal shows either. Except in some finales, sing a long shows are a tiny minority and are always advertised as such.

I don't usually see too much very poor behaviour in theatres but it has definitely increased. I quite often take large groups of children to the theatre and have given them the same pre show talk for years. Telling them that it is not acceptable to eat, talk or look at their phones except in the interval used to get no reaction or 'of course' kind of nods. In recent years some of them look at me like Im crazy - or at least wrong.

Bad behaviour in the theatre is vile, and the ignorance of these individuals is beyond belief. Not really a fan of juke box type musicals, but thus sort of thing would really put me off booking tickets.

I'm surprised they were allowed in. The theatre has a strict age limit on that production.

Really amused at the poster advocating people only do a small amount of singing and dancing in the aisles so as not to ruin the show for others.
How some people's minds work is fascinating.