Rude people are the Theatre

[MadeleineMummy]

I hardly ever go out but a friend and I decided to go to the West End to see a sold out version of Macbeth. There was an affluent couple behind us who just talked loudly and heavy petted all through the first half while kicking our seats. It was a small theatre and it was really distracting. I kept on looking back at them but they did not seem to notice. I finally spoke to them and told them I could not hear the actors. The woman then haughtily said with a smile, “Well I won’t speak louder than the actors then”. Then proceeded to talk louder. It was not just them, it seemed as if there was a buzz of talking around the whole theatre.

During the interval, I spoke to an usher and she said she would have a word and she did speak to them twice but it did nothing to dissuade them for speaking. Is it just me or have people lost all sense of decorum and decency? The play was a hot ticket with famous names and I would assume that people who came out would have some appreciation for the theatre and be lovers of Shakespeare but it seems not to be the case. This is the second time this year that I have been to a show and people have talked all the way through.

I really hate going out because most venues seem to have ignorant rude people. I am inclined to stay in more because I know that I will have my night spoiled by horrible people.

Is there anything I can do to step people from behaving so horribly?

it was very good despite the distractions. The setting was intimate.

That's probably what the heavy petters also said when asked about their evening 😂

Seriously though, I am sorry your evening was spoiled. I have given up going to things now. People don't seem to consider others any more.

I went to a concert years ago and myself and my husband were standing in the standing area. One woman got so cross with us as she couldn't see (my husband is tall). She was literally shouting at us. I understand it's annoying as I'm not tall and have been to many things that I literally can't see anything but not sure what she wanted my husband to do.

The Donmar Macbeth is also "headphone theatre" where each member of the audience wears binaural headphones throughout the whole play, which are directly linked to the actors' radio mics so the dialogue and sound effects comes directly into one or both ears ( to give the impression that the actors are whispering into your ear or that certain things are happening in 3D sound).

I wish all theatre performances were like this. I often can’t hear very well unless I’m right at the front.

Oh I agree, it’s really disappointing when you’ve looked forward to going out and spent money etc. I remember the first time I took my little girl to a theatre show (it was only a local one so not west end) but she was so excited for it. We had this ‘rough’ family behind us who aside from chatting/laughing loudly and kicking our seats, absolutely reeked of weed and alcohol 😔 I spoke to an usher at mid interval who thankfully moved us. But I was really annoyed they’re spoilt our experience.

I’m short. I have tickets for Drop The Dead Donkey for June next year, booked the best seats I could 2nd row of stalls and I’m already worrying that someone tall will be in front of me!

I read an article just recently where Dominic West says he prefers to play regional theatres now, rather than the West End, because of the behavior and too many people who are just there to tick it off a list as a tourist experience.

As someone has already posted, there have been at least two occasions recently where Manchester Palace have had to call the police and stop performances to get people removed. Most recently for Hamilton. Utterly appalling behaviour but at least they get thrown out.

I think the venues could do more to curb this by not serving as much alcohol, refusing entry to people who are late or obviously drunk.

Oh and eating at the cinema? Are people really incapable of going two hours without ingesting something sweet or salty? Venues definitely encourage this because of the revenue from snack sales
Also the sound in cinemas now is so loud people feel it is OK to talk. Years ago it wasn't and you got told to shh if you talked.

Has Op explained how she heard the chat over the headphones yet

I’ve told this before so forgive me if it’s familiar.

went to see a big British band in a very small venue in LA last year. Managed to get myself to the front and side of the stage with one guy in front of me.
as soon as the opening band came out, so did his phone. He then replaced that after the first song with a tablet retrieved from a backpack. Not only was it incredibly annoying, he was holding it to the side iyswim so blocking the natural gap I could see through.
DH leaned forward and sang loudly, rather out of tune in his thick regional accent right into the phone. Amused me greatly to think when he went back through all these videos he’d have that.

eventually I tapped him on the shoulder and requested if he must film the whole thing could he at least hold the phone in his eyeline rather than mine. He looked a bit surprised but did do so and happily he fucked off before the headliners came on leaving me at the front.

it was odd though. I go to a lot of gigs in the UK and whilst there are always people who will film bits here and there this seemed to be people filming the whole thing from the first note.

I tell them to stop. Every time.

As others have said in the thread, this is becoming normalised and if people don’t call it out it will get worse!

Why are people whinging about tall people? They can't help it!
There are booster seats that you can use, if it bothers you that much! I say that as a fellow short arse, who would not hesitate to grab a booster if someone taller was in front of me.

In fact, I'm sure I've used one. They're always at the entrance!

😂

Tbf , im 5'2 and dh is 6'2
Tall people are an issue for me and booster seats sometimes dont help.

DH on the otherhand tends to find space a huge issue because he is really uncomfortable. He always tries to sit end of row if we go together.

This made me chuckle as I saw that run - he was phenomenal and it must've been incredibly difficult to 'give' so much to a performance every night, let alone having to deal with the audience as well. I think if he'd told me off I'd be too afraid to leave the house again!

(But then again I wouldn't have been filming!)

YANBU OP. I used to love theatre but it's really gone wrong somewhere. The last musical I saw was Les Mis and someone behind me was belting all the songs out as if it were a singalong. I do the ballet every Christmas but am starting to go off it due to all the parents loudly explaining everything to their children and praising them for their insightful questions (always during the quiet bits). Stop it! That's what the interval is for!

I was at a classical music concert when the man next to me opened up a folder with the score and started following it with a finger. That was distracting enough, but after a while he started waving his arm around to conduct the orchestra! That was just too much and I had to tell him to stop it. I think he was probably a teacher, because the folder had a school's name printed on it.
After the interval he changed places with his wife, who studiously ignored me.

I don't understand how those problems could have arisen with this particular production.

I have seen this happen, not here but in Vienna! I found it hilarious.

I once saw the conductor's baton fly out of his hand and nearly thwack one of the orchestra in the face. All carried on admirably but it took everything in me not to laugh!

DH and I are exactly the same height as you and your DH. I've never had a problem. We always try to get the aisle seat for him and sit in stalls, if we can afford to, as there is more room for him in stalls. Nosebleed seats tend to be worse for having sit with your knees round your ears, if you're tall.

My 12 year old is under 5 ft and she's never had an issue either, but like I said, people can't help their height 🤷‍♀️ but people can help manners.

Same, but no one else seems to care. They just want to complain about the theatre 😂

YANBU, I’ve noticed this too. It’s because of the pandemic. Before the lockdowns there was a very established tradition of how you behave in a theatre. After the lockdowns people were in a weird mental space and started behaving oddly in theatres and also in shops on the roads (so much abuse of shop staff! So much road rage!!)

People are more back to normal now, but the traditions of civil behaviour in theatres/shops/roads have been broken and now everyone is more ‘Why shouldn’t I eat and talk loudly, everyone else is’ plus people are angry about the massive decline in Britain’s standard of living, and that also makes them behave more like assholes. Happy people are so much politer than angry people.

Heavy petting in Macbeth 🤮 it’s the least sexy play ever!

I do think its about angles, some theatres are great at staggering seats so you look between heads in front, others not so good.

@Marchitectmummy I love theatre and we probably go on average about 20 times a year. Our family is also on quite a low income, so theatre tickets for us are luxuries that we afford by scrimping in other areas of our lives.

That's why we sit in the cheap seats - because we're poor. Our financial situation has fuck all to do with our ability to appreciate theatre, though.

I know he's persona non grata now, but when Kevin Spacey was at the Old Vic he was famous for having a go at badly behaved audience members, including one person who has their feet on the stage.

Bollocks.

Some of us in the cheap seats have saved up for a year to afford those bloody tickets and can’t afford for it to be ruined by rich wankers who £100 is small change to. It’s our one chance to go to the theatre.

The Playhouse in Edinburgh is zero tolerance on this sort of behaviour. They were publicly praised in the media for throwing out a noisy group about a year ago. Their social media says they just don't stand for it.