Aibu- talking in the theatre?!

[Cookiemonster14]

Hi everyone! Long time lurker and needing a rant more than anything
This weekend, my husband and I packed a bag, dropped our LG with grandparents and jumped on the train to London. Huge deal to us: probably the only time this year we'll leave our daughter to do something for ourselves, scrimped to pay for theatre tickets/hotel etc.

Really enjoyed the show, apart from a small group of grown women talking, heckling (bordering on racist) and even started on a political debate in the middle of slower songs and quieter parts of the show. Lots of people turning around, shaking heads etc. I'm sitting 5 or so seats down, but can clearly hear every word they are saying. After a while (2nd half) I'd had enough so said (word for word) "Excuse me, I'm not sure who's talking, but you're being quite loud and it's spoiling it for everyone else." Someone giggled, so I said "we'd appreciate it if you could tone it down a bit."

Not really much more from them until the end, as we were leaving. The group of women decided to imitate me by repeating in a daft voice "ruining it for the rest of us..." again and again. I'm pregnant and hormonal so replied, "well, you were. I could hear you from 5 seats away." One lady said "if you could hear us over the music you must be deaf or something," and another told me to go find my husband and calm the fuck down. One said that I'd be getting pushed down the stairs if I didn't walk away (which is pretty hard to do in the usual shuffling-down-the-steps) This just made me laugh, because it was purely ridiculous.

Not sure if this is really an AIBU, but happy to be told otherwise! I just wanted to share the solidarity of the sisterhood at it's finest!

YANBU

Good for you for telling them to put a sock in it rather than just doing the tutting and glaring thing.

Threatening to push you down the steps, they sound like an awful bunch of cunts. I hope they're all cursed with recurrent cystitis for the next year.

YWNBU, I would have complained to the theatre staff!

I've just re-read and noticed you're pregnant. Threatening to push a pregnant woman down the stairs deserves two years of cystitis.

You were quite restrained really. I'd have flipped my lid at the pushed down the stairs comment!
Good for you

I had a horrendous experience of an extremely vocal and arguing couple at a Mickey Flanagan show a few weeks ago. I ended up physically removing a mobile phone from the offender after basically missing the first half of the show due to her calling various people and crying down the phone. Lots of other people, were Tutting and shushing but she refused to pipe down. Security did not nothing when I complained.

So I know how you feel OP.

You did absolutely the right thing by politely asking them to be quiet, I've done the same myself. Never been met with such an extreme reaction though! What a bunch of arseholes! Hope it didn't completely ruin your evening.

Obvs we need to know what the show was before we can comment!

(and, probably a diagram!)

I ended up physically removing a mobile phone from the offender

You was aht, aht, that fucker had no right to ruin your night!

People are just weird in theatres though.

A few years ago we went to an opera at the Royal Albert Hall. The woman sitting next to us was in my seat so I asked her to move up (as obv we were in the wrong seats, and it was packed so I could foresee trouble). You would have thought I'd asked her to saw off her own leg, the fuss she made, huffing and puffing. And yes, the seats next to us were full, so she needed to budge up. The bitch.

Did you tell the theatre staff? I've had to do tha before when some fuckwit was talking all through a show & security threw them out

Good on you Cookie. I seriously think there should be a message before every play/concert/whatever to tell people they shouldn't talk, phone, record, eat because other people want to listen, watch and hear and if they do they'll be thrown out. AND HUGE SIGNS just in case they're on their phones or chatting through the announcements.

Fine if you're at Glastonbury or whatever waving phones around or recording but otherwise? I know actors have had to go out of part to tell people to stop their phones ringing/talking but why the hell should they have to?

Disgusting people. Hope it didnt spoil your evening.

I've just re-read and noticed you're pregnant. Threatening to push a pregnant woman down the stairs deserves two years of cystitis. And haemorrhoids. Great big ones the size of grapes.

I completely agree with you. A couple of years ago, we went to a very popular play which was expensive to get tickets for. We were both utterly shocked by the behaviour of what was predominantly a middle-class, middle-aged audience.

Pushing and shoving, blatant queue-jumping, talking during the play -the woman in front of us glared at me for sneezing but then spent nearly the whole play talking to her friend. Constant mobile phone usage, late arriving, late back from intermission.

I mentioned it to a friend who is a regular theatre goer and she said it was pretty normal.

It seems as if theatre audiences are returning to some kind of Elizabethan etiquette, what with all the talking and squabbling. Did anyone come round flogging oranges?

Security were useless, a kid of about 17, hardly likely to tackle a drunk couple.

I was bloody raging , as it completely spoilt my night. Can't believe how rude some people are.

Omg op... I hope that if you were upset you are now ok after reading replies in here... cant believe the stupid witches and their comments about pushing you down the stairs... you should complain to theatre even now as this incident has happened as their staff have allowed some immature loonies to talk during the show. tell them how upset you are and see if you can get a free pair of tickets perhaps for family to use.

Yanbu. I wish I had spoken up when I went to a Dave Gorman show and someone next to us had clearly been to a previous show, and loudly said the punchline to each joke before he did!