To ask people to move seats at the theatre

[Homemoans]

My 6-year son really wants to see a play of one of David Walliams on Saturday, the only seats they have left are on the front row but they are 5 seats apart. WIBU to buy the two tickets and ask the 5 people sat in between us to either move up or move down?

I think it's bloody rude and entitled and would tell you so.
it's the nerve that would get me.
You are attending expecting others to accomodate you.
what would you do if nobody wanted to move?

True, but if we worried about every single possible outcome of every single interaction then we'd never do anything. To an extent we have to rely on probability. And the probability is that OP will not be seated near somebody with the particular type of anxiety that you suffer from. For example, my DB has absolutely crippling social anxiety coupled with bouts of agoraphobia. A stranger making eye contact and saying hello to him (as often happens round our village) sends him into a panic. Should people never say hello as they pass a stranger in the street in case it's someone like my DB? Of course not. Because the vast, vast majority of people will say hi back and it will be a perfectly pleasant encounter.

NavyandWhite And other people with anxiety have said they wouldn't.

We're not one homogenous group you know.

You don't even need to move the entire row. You could ask the seat next to the one you plan to book nearest the aisle to swap with the other seat you book.

I personally wouldn't ask as people choose the seats for a reason. How old is your son? Would he be ok to sit on his own?

Ratatatouille My Level of anxiety isn't actually that extreme or uncommon; people just hide it.

I wouldn't mind if you asked me so no, yanbu.

Also I'd like to add, I do understand anxiety. I've battled with it myself. But as you can see from the posts on here, your reaction is not typical of someone with anxiety. Even allowing for anxiety, it's extreme. Which is why I think it's unreasonable to expect a stranger to anticipate that.

Also I'd like to add, I do understand anxiety. I've battled with it myself. But as you can see from the posts on here, your reaction is not typical of someone with anxiety. Even allowing for anxiety, it's extreme. Which is why I think it's unreasonable to expect a stranger to anticipate that.

I would move in this situation if asked as it wouldn't change my view and we would all still be together! That said I wouldn't book the tickets!! Not everyone will move and what will you do if your there and they won't?

X post. Again, I understand anxiety perfectly well thank you.

YANBU to ASK.

It's one seat. Many people on here are overly hostile & aggressive in their replies. Not so much in real life.

However, only book it if your DS would be ok if they say no.

Nope - not a shame at all

I get the seat I booked

I rarely go out to things because of my anxiety - on the rare occasion I do, then i have booked months in advance, for a particular seat. If other people don't then it really is tough. I have to have an aisle seat . So if there is one space mid-row and two on the aisle, I'm sure as shit not moving to the middle of the row!

WTF is a 'nippy sweetie'?

As for 'hatchet faced old hag' - with your attitude I'm sure you experience a lot of those

Have the people who have said no actually looked at the attached photo?

This is not a hypothetical we can all see the booking plan. No one has come up with a reason that those 5 seats would be better, lots of people have pointed out a shift to the left would be an improvement. It's the front row so easy access and this doesn't involve an aisle or a pillar.

But of course, it's the principle of the thing...🤔

What, because I don't mind being asked a civil request that I only have to politely decline?

I have to have an aisle seat

More or less everyone has said that if someone needs an aisle seat then it's obvious they shouldn't feel obliged to move.

But accessibility/visibility/anxiety issues excepted, it is bloody mean spirited to refuse to move one measly seat over for a child 'just because'.

@WhatToDoAboutThis2017 I totally understand anxiety triggered by changing plans but I think if it would be triggered over moving down one single seat I would define that as extreme. I'm sorry you have to go through it. My anxiety is extreme in other areas and it's a pretty horrendous thing to live with.

Not unreasonable to ask. But there's a chance that not everyone would want to move.

In most cases, if someone asked me, I would move. But it depends on which direction! In one of the theatres I go to, the central seats in the rows are quite a bit more expensive than the outer seats - centre is about £55 and outer is about £40. I'm not sure if I would be keen on moving to a £40 seat if I had specifically paid the extra £15 for a better seat (but I probably would move anyway, especially if for a child at a children's performance).

@LiviaDrusillaAugusta If OP was asking someone on the aisle to move I would tell her not to. Lots of people book aisle seats for a reason and they're very unlikely to want to move. But she's not, so I'm not sure your point is valid.

Ah so we have to move because there is a child involved? Okay then...

You want a seat? You book it.

Not read the whole thread.
If it had been my plane seat then no way, in a theatre yes, unless as has been said I had an aisle or you put me behind a post.

I have moved before in a similar situation.

Nope - not a shame at all

This bit we'll have to agree to disagree on. There are certain times in life when you have an opportunity to do something to make someone's life a little bit easier or a little bit harder. And it is a crying shame for people to choose the latter for no reason at all other than they just can.

ohtallulah