Embarrassed Edinburgh family 'told off for miming' along to Annie at Playhouse- how can they think they're in the right?!

[MichelleScarn]

https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/embarrassed-edinburgh-family-told-miming-26567374

How on earth can they think that this behaviour was OK?
Bloody rude and probably spoiled it for people around them!

No. You are NOT supposed to sing along to musicals unless invited by the cast. People pay to listen to the performers, not random people in the audience (says a long time devotee of musicals who has also sung in amateur productions).

So not only “miming”, but probably gurning at each other, giggling, nudging each other at their own cleverness and originality, moving around in their seats and disturbing probably upwards of twenty other people around them.

selfish twats.

Unless it’s advertised as a sing-a-long performance you’re only allowed to sing if you’re on the stage!

My friend has stopped going to musicals because of groups of loud drunken women who stand up, sing along (badly), dance and make it impossible for her to see or hear the performers. The final straw was a brawl that involved drinks and punches being thrown and the on stage action paused until security had escorted out half a dozen people. This was at a matinee performance!

If they were just sitting lip synching along, I doubt anyone would have noticed. Maybe a bit of gentle swaying to an upbeat number. I suspect they were making a right spectacle of themselves and affecting other people's experience. I remember once going to see a choral/orchestral performance at the royal Albert hall and the woman next to me being asked to leave because she was singing along. Her words were "I've performed this in my choir, I know what I'm doing"

Attention seeking idiots who clearly didn’t give a toss about infuriating everyone around them. Pity they weren’t chucked out.

This was in Edinburgh.
Could have understood it if they’d have been scousers.

Been to loads of musicals and no you aren't.

Theatres are right. Some people just don't seem to understand how watching a live play works these days. No decorum. Ruining it for other theatre goers.

So bloody weird that here you express indignation at the rudeness of people like the people in your OP you seem to have enormous sympathy for 😐

@potniatheron shuffled off ages ago.

Where on earth are you thinking I have sympathy for the theater disturbing people? 🤨

Eh? The OP has not expressed anything other than contempt for the people in the article.

I feel like The Mail could do a public service here and run a series of clickbait articles on general etiquette in social situations. eg 'Shock as TikTocker reveals how you've been doing musicals ALL WRONG (clue - no singing allowed!).

Well it's no surprise really. The arts have really become dumbed down in the last 15 years or so. I mean, I had a look at my local theatre, the Liverpool Empire to see what's on. Why are they putting on shit like "Vardy vs Rooney: a Wagatha Christie trial"? So your bottomless brunch cackling group types go to crap like that thinking that's theatre, then they go off to screech at a singalonga version of something, then they might try a standard musical. And they just can't differentiate between them so behave exactly the same at all of them. They seem to forget they are not in Gogglebox.

plenty of rowdy bams in Edinburgh

Not to mention all the tribute acts that are everywhere. It's quite depressing that we don't have enough original creative artists left so we're left with tribute acts. And it doesn't help that smaller grassroots music venues are struggling financially.

What a nasty, snobby post.

Thanks @Comefromaway was wondering if I'd really missed something!

And again.

People enjoy different things, I’m as happy going to see a tribute act as I am the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

I can’t be arsed with people who think they’re better than everyone else because of their taste in entertainment.

I don't care if you think it's snobby. There is a show for all types of theatre goers. If it brings in revenue then fine. I just wouldn't go to the Wagatha Christie type of rubbish myself. The point is, people should be able to adjust their behaviour according to the type of show they're going to watch. The fact that people are just so unaware is depressing, it's as someone said upthread, they are in their own little bubble. If you go to something, anything, you've never experienced before, what do you do? You do as the Romans do. You watch what others are doing and copy. You don't go off-piste. I don't see how it's any different with theatre.

You missed the point. Which was that not enough original artists are coming through the ranks. Years ago, the theatres were full of original artists starting out.

You talk about people “living in a bubble” well you clearly do if you’re so ignorant of the original live acts performing all over the uk every night and the huge following many have on YouTube and TikTok.

My son is in a young band who write their own songs & gig. Two of the members also perform as a tribute act. The band also does covers. There is an audience for all of them.

The Playhouse are quite rightly VERY strict on behavior, no photos, no phones, no chatting etc. so I'm glad to see this.

Anyone else find that since lockdowns there seem to be people that just do not understand how to behave at events?

I will tell people like @potniatheron that I am hear to listen to the professionals not you and your friends after one too many prosecco’s

Although sometimes it can (nearly) have consequences. One warbler, funnily enough at Mamma Mia also but in the West End, obviously took offence and told her friends she was going to “do me in” after the show. Luckily she described me to her friend and did it right in front of a security guard, not an usher but a security guard, who stopped me and told me to hold back.

They then took me and my friend backstage and out the stage door to avoid the prosecco queens who obviously thought they were part of Abba! I would now be hesitant to say something directly but I will still always say something to an usher. Some are better than others at dealing with disruptive audiences
members

I go to the opera, a lot. I pay good prices for the operas I want to passionately see, and hopefully a lot less for the operas I am not sure about. I went for standing recently (£10 + booking fee) - sold out opera - I was delighted to get a standing ticket. But gosh out of the 10-12 of us who were standing - clearly many had never stood before - it's hard work! But the (young-ish) couple who wandered around, chatted, got the phone out, tried to sit in the 1st few mins in the the sparse empty seats. I was fed up with them, as were the FOH , and the audience members seated just in front of us who had paid perhaps not short of £100 per ticket. They had no idea how to behave in a theatre. Thankfully they left but the 1st hour was so disruptive. Now by the 2nd act, after the interval, when it was clearly that sadly some audience members would not be joining that evening's performance - we were offered seats. The opera house I attend is very diverse - tries to attract younger audience members and also a lot of overseas visitors - but I couldn't believe how they couldn't read the room. Same here.