Screaming in the theatre am I just out of touch?

[Itsmuchtooloudinhere]

We went to a dance show today as my autistic daughter loves dance, music and theatre. We go fairly often with no drama as normally she likes the energy of it all and sees it as a big treat.

Today the audience literally were screaming through the whole thing - not just when performers came on and applauding at the end but during the performance too. Even as an NT person it was overwhelming. DD lasted for 5 mins and we had to leave 😭 it was awful!! We were obviously in the minority though as everyone else was clearly loving it. There was a lot of street dance in the show (though it wasn't billed as exclusively a street performance) - is this a streetdance thing? I feel really bad that I planned this as a nice treat for DD and it's been a really stressful/upsetting experience.

Are you sure there was screaming all the way through I'd you were there 5 mins? But yanbu it's too much for an audience to non stop scream. It can't be easy gor the performers

I've not been to any theatre events with DC where there was any applause or audience participation other than at the usual breaks/with encouragement from the performers.

The only things I'm aware of with lots of wooping, shouting and screaming are more local children's and teens events where some parents and family friends seem to think it's the X Factor.

Actually shrill screaming like at a concert or whooping?

I’ve noticed a lot of places offer a quiet performance, specifically to avoid overwhelming non NT audience members. Maybe worth seeing if any are available near you next time. Really sorry you both had a crap experience.

Perhaps look for relaxed or accessible performances where they tone it down. I'm not sure how you know that level was throughout though if you left early on. Was she able to watch on monitors in the foyer?

We saw something recently and that was the same. Either some sort of fan club or family members. It was awful

Today the audience literally were screaming through the whole thing

You mean they were screaming for 5 minutes if that’s when you left??

As above, book an autism friendly showing. They keep lights low and noise levels down.

Was it parents? I try and avoid going to the shows my kids stage school put on now 😂

Are you sure you didn’t accidentally end up in the Sistine chapel?

I go to the theatre a lot and unfortunately often people do often use screaming and whooping instead of applause and it bugs the shit out of me. Just clap ffs!

As an example we went to see the Lion King twice in Manchester recently (on different days) and during both performances people were screaming their heads off in excitement when the papier-mâché animal puppets walked on. It was like Elvis had dropped his pants. Utterly ridiculous.

Do you mean full on screaming like the ridiculous footage of Beatles fans for example, screaming at the sight of Paul McCartney?
No can’t say I’ve experienced this. I’ve been to lots of shows and concerts and agree with a previous poster who said the audience only scream/clap/whistle at appropriate times.
It would be beyond annoying having to listen to screaming throughout the performance.

I don't think kids are taught how to behave in the theatre any more. Every time we go to a kids' show it's really noisy. I understand that children don't automatically know how to behave and can't sit still and quiet for ages, but clearly the majority of them are not remotely being told to be quiet. This presumably then moves on to older kids and adults. If you're never told, how will you know?

Was it a professional production or a showcase event for dance groups? My daughter performs in the later and when the street dance groups are there the parents are often unbearable loud!!

These would be worse as its expected that people will be loud.

My child has ASD but we avoid the accessible performances as he can't bare people talking/being loud/shouting/getting up.

It was beatle style mania screaming! I've never seen anything like it!
It was individual troops came on to high pitched screaming, screaming while they danced and then screaming when it ended. Brief pause and started again with the next troop. We lasted for 3 troop performances (prob more like 10 mins) before we left. But it was clear that this was the format for the rest of the show.

As others have said I think it was more like individual showcase events. My mistake and I will avoid anything like this again.

@ApplePieFry maybe we entered into some alternative world sistene chapel with flashing lights and drum and bass 😂

Was it a competition? I'd assume it was friends and family of the troop cheering for them.

I remember going to see Wicked (not sing a long version) and I had two women behind me singing loudly to every song, in the end I had to remind them I’d paid to listen to the show and not to them singing very badly in my ear hole.

Deep cut.

It’s awful, why do they need to scream? By all ,means cheer or clap but to carry on during the performance I just don’t get it.

If it was SIX it's entirely expected. I worked in the theatres for a few years and there was nothing more batshit than the SIX audiences.

Great show though!

Street performances are often like this in my experience. We went to a competition with lots of hip hop/street performances and the noise was awful. We all left with headaches

As you were only there for 5 minutes then I would expect a lot of shouting and screaming ate beginning if it was a lively one.

It’s like if you go to a concert they’ll scream when the song first comes on but then quieten down to hear it.

I would have given it at least 10 minutes.

I would also bring ear defenders if your DD is autistic as sometimes it’s much louder than you think it will be.