Booze in theatres

[Conniebygaslight]

We go to various theatres probably about half a dozen times a year to see different things, musicals, comedians, plays, audience with....etc.
Every single time over the last couple of years there has been groups or couples who are constantly shouting out from their seats, always women (usually middle aged) and always off their faces drunk. They completely spoil the show.
We've had women fighting in the foyer, or passed out drunk and/or just generally being very loud and obnoxious./aggressive
We went to see comedian last night and again the 2 women behind us were ridiculous and we had to move.
When did boozing in theatres become the norm?
For reference I'm a middle aged woman who is also a drinker but I can manage a night at the theatre without one.
AIBU to say that alcohol is becoming part of everything nowadays and nowhere is safe from drunken louts?

YABU because alcohol has always been available at theatres, there's nothing new there. Ordering drinks to be ready at the interval is part of the experience.

I've never experienced this, where do you go to the theatre? FIGHTS?

Drinking at the theatre has always been a "thing".

I totally agree, alcohol ruins a lot of occasions and it is usually middle aged people.
We went to see a matinee of the lion King and people were late in or constantly up and down because they were at/wanted to get to the bar.

Never seen any fights at any theatre, apart from on stage

That certainly doesn't happen at the National Theatre or RSC, both of which serve alcohol.

Fights? Are you going to prison shows?!

Never seen a fight at the theatre and I go a lot.

I think the mad rush to get one drink in the interval was a lot better. People now bring a bottle of proscecco back for the second half!

YANBU...don't get me started on the food situation.

People don’t know how to behave in theatres at all. We saw Phantom in the West End and the people in front of us had a full packed tea to crunch throughout the performance. Loud conversations bout ‘who wants a chicken drumstick’!
Then at Come What May in Liverpool a woman was so drunk that she kept shouting out to the man playing the lead and leaning on the front of the stage. She was removed by security.
I think it’s symptomatic of society now though. People don’t care about how their actions affect others as long as they are having a good time.

Never experienced this at all and go to the theatre very regularly. If it is happening, the solution is to remove the individuals, not to stop serving alcohol for everyone. It’s also more likely they are pre-drinking elsewhere if they are that drunk.

It has got worse, in popular shows, I was faintly surprised to get an email suggesting pre theatre drinks, ordering interval drinks and post show drinks…it’s all pushed at people.

last time I was at the national theatre the bloke next to me fell asleep and snored, he looked like he’d had a few….no fighting though.

I've never experienced this. Maybe choose a different theatre.

Nothing wrong with a drink at the theatre - it’s part of the experience- never seen anything disrespectful really. Fights and people passed out ? ! Where the hell do you go ? I’m really curious

Well actually there was an incident fairly recently reported locally to where I live in which a fight broke out between a group of drunken women in a theatre. I was a bit incredulous but OP has just corroborated that this is an actual thing.

We sometimes go to watch tennis and have been amazed at the amount of drinking that goes on there during the matches. A group of people sat next to me at a match last year had smuggled in literally bottles and bottles of wine. They were more focused on sharing out the drink than on the match. They didn't fight but were drunk and were constantly needing to go past for the toilets. It was very distracting.

I'm with the OP. I think it's sad people think they can't enjoy anything without alcohol. And the point is their enjoyment of drinking is quite often to the detriment of the enjoyment of the event for other people. When people are drinking they often are unaware or actually don't care about how it affects other people.

Maybe go to a better quality shows... I sort of expect this behaviour in musicals and comedy shows. I doubt anyone has ever done something like that during Hedda Gabler performance...
The only time I ever experienced what you are describing is when my work colleague arranged for us to go to the Dirty Dancing the musical for her birthday. But it was shit of the show anyway.

People have always drunk at the theatre, but the ability to order drinks to your seat mid performance and the general pushing of more alcohol is new. I go reasonably often, on various mailing lists etc. There's much more mention of alcohol than there used to be.

Yes, true, but being pissed and interrupting performances, singing, being on phone, disturbing others is a relatively new phenomenon.
Such people are just ignorant and should have lifetime bans from theatres.
Or not be surprised when someone turns round and gives them a smack on the chops

I like musicals! They are high quality. Well in London anyway! Not so much at my local theatre. It definitely depends on target audience, show and location I think. The other huge irritation is the sing-along member of the audience who should also be removed.

I am certainly aware that more people drink in their seats and eat too. We’ve not seen anyone very drunk but the drinkers cannot stop drinking! Yes, booze was always avsilable in the interval but drinking vast amounts in your seat is relatively new. Rarely saw it even 10 years ago.

We have seen someone ejected. At a performance by the Ballet Rambert in Edinburgh! He started arguing with other people about something and a couple got up and left; presumably they reported him on the way out. He was in a wheelchair which made it surreal in a way. At least it was dealt with.

The Royal Opera House doesn’t allow drink in the auditorium. Nor latecomers in. It’s bliss. No singing along either.

The other issue is people spilling their drinks as there’s no shelf for the glasses. There’s mess all over the floor. It’s for theatres to stop it. They allow the comfort of the majority to be compromised. Not acceptable in my view.

I went to see A Little Life ( starring James Norton) at the Savoy Theatre last year. Tickets for the matinee performance were over £100 and very hard to get. We were sent an email a week before the performance asking us to arrive almost 2 hours before start time to ensure a comfortable and non- crowded entry into the theatre. We were also told that a champagne vending machine would be available in the theatre, probably the real reason why we were encouraged to arrive ridiculously early. Shameless money making.

Just realised your username and had a small chuckle to myself as I met Kris at a social event many moons ago. He was a riot!

There’s a massive difference between ordering a drink at the interval and getting drunk! Yes, it’s shameless selling of huge amounts of booze prior to the show. @Sherwil16 Was James Norton good? The Savoy is quite an intimate theatre. Not much room.

We go to several theatres, always the same.

I'm really curious where you have been going OP - we go to the theatre a fair amount, but I've never experienced what you have described. I've not been to a comedy night, but I would imagine drinking would be encouraged by the venue at such events, so the audience is well-oiled for the comedian?

I agree with OP. Interval drinks have always been a thing, but it's not just interval drinks now, it's all the way through the performance in the auditorium drinks.

We went to see The Plaza Suite earlier in the year at the Savoy Theatre and they made a big thing of champagne packages. There was constant clinking of bottle against glasses, chinking of glasses, bits of conversation, at one point a steward stumbled backwards into a whole load of empty glasses that had been left on the floor. Really distracting, but admittedly could be partially solved by using plastic or bamboo 'glasses' rather than glass.

Agree with a poster above though, none of the same issues at the National Theatre curiously.