To think children should be made to behave in a theatre?

[Sziasztok]

Went to an amateur pantomime on a Friday, that a friend was performing in. It was in the theatre of a local school. During the entire performance, kids were running all over the theatre, including climbing up on the stage to scream at and prod the performers. They paused the performance twice to ask parents to keep their children off the stage (at one point, one little shit, who looked to be about 8, was at the front of the stage, kicking and trying to smash the lights). Two kids stood in the aisle and had a screaming competition. Again, they paused the performance as no-one could hear anything.

I asked my friend if it was always that bad. She said that the matinées that they did for schools were fine, as the teachers didn’t allow bad behaviour and any disruptive child was either told off or removed. But the evening performances always had to be paused at least once to get kids off the stage, and parents seemed to think it was cute/funny.

To be clear, it wasn’t just one or two kids who were disruptive, it was the vast majority of them. And it wasn’t the normal interaction with the cast (“He’s behind you!”) or inviting the kids on stage, it ruined the whole performance. Is this normal behaviour these days? Mine would have been removed or read the riot act if they had behaved like this.

I've never seen it. My own kids did used to respond to the questions, though. Are these children very tiny?

Have taken my kids since they were small and they know how to behave they are 10 and 13. That said I had to ask a teenager maybe 16 who sat next to me at the ballet to please stop eating Pringles during a performance two weeks ago. It was a Christmas Carol - there were 3 acts which only 30 mins long with 20 mins intervals in between yet he only ate during the performance. Lots of kids in the audience really well behaved. By the second act I lost it and asked him to wait to the interval to eat. But I have never seen anything like you are describing except once at a cinema screening of Frozen 2 where the kids were dancing in front of the screen blocking everyone's view. I got an usher who told them to sit down. I'm mean and horrible

I'm not a rubber chicken

Ex teacher also. I remember the school trips to the annual local panto and the kids there were well behaved. Once, due to staff shortages, about four parents were invited to come along to help supervise. Those four parents' children were the worst behaved in the entire theatre.

Exactly as you describe, OP, running to the front shouting and screaming at the actors, running up and down the steps, standing on their seats and generally causing a huge disturbance. The parents did absolutely fuck all and after having to step in for the fifth or sixth time, one of them loudly exclaimed that their kid was just having fun and said I was 'bullying them'.

The TA eventually managed to take out the worst behaved to sit in lobby but a other of the parents followed and took their kid back inside.

Another's ex teacher - for a reason.

These were year 4 children BTW.

This is not acceptable and they should have been told to leave. Am dram or professional, the same behaviour expectations stand.

I take my son (with SEN) to the "relaxed performance" of our local pantomime.
I don't need to worry about him not sitting still then as none of the kids have the attention span to sit still for that long.
Of course I still supervise him constantly throughout and if he had a meltdown I would take him out (even in an SEN friendly performance).

Are you sure this wasn't a SEN friendly performance of the pantomime?
That would explain why none of the children were sitting still.
It just seems a bit unusual that it was ALL the children.

Where are you? I’ve never seen behavior that bad round here and I have a 4 year old so am at children’s performances and activities a lot. It’s pretty shocking if kids were allowed to run on the stage and annoy the performers.

The worst behaviour I have seen at an amateur panto was from an adult! She talked constantly, except when her friend/relative was onstage (one of the dancers) and then cheered, whooped and shouted out her name. When asked to be quiet by other audience members, she swore at them.

She sounds delightful. 😮

I mean this is just all kids at all events. I don't have kids and would never go to a pantomime or anything else that was obviously kid-based.

As an avid watcher of Doctors Behind Closed Doors I can’t understand how parents can let their sprogs run amock while they’re in the doctors surgery room?
Can’t wait to see a feral kid plunge their grubby little paws into the sharps bin..worth the tv license alone!

Thankfully she wasn't seated near us or I think I'd have decked her. There were plenty of children in the audience behaving appropriately.

That is dreadful!!

I'm taking dd to see a panto next week and now praying we don't have to experience this!

My student DD (17 at the time) worked at a well known theatre and the behaviour; mainly adults was horrific, She finally left when a man (with wife and kids) refused to put his bottle of vodka away and then spat on her and told her she'd ruined their night.

That's one of the more ridiculous examples of poor parenting I've read (and I've read a lot of craziness with this gentle parenting malarkey). Children should be taught to sit still when at tables and in public places like theatres, a toddler squirming around is fair enough, but if you can't keep them on their seat/your knee you leave the space.

Pantos you do expect a bit of noise, children asking questions perhaps but not running around. If parents taught them from 6 months to be seated daily at the table and eat as a family then by the time they get to toddler age they are used to sitting still - mine went to concerts and performances from babies and never were an issue. You can't expect them to behave out if you don't have rules in your house

There's a lot of shitty, lazy parenting around, apparently it's kinder on the little darlings. 🙄 It's not really doing them any favours in the long run is it? They will struggle to function properly in society.

If you spend any time overseas, it's really noticeable how badly behaved kids in the UK actually are. Other nationalities seem to manage to produce well behaved, well mannered and engaged children.

At a community show over the summer, a woman with kids in tow marched straight through one of the acts. With role models like that the kids don't stand a chance.

Poor performers! Sounds hellish.

I teach primary and the behaviour of some children flips like a switch when parents pick them up. It's eye-opening. They have behaved perfectly well all day, then suddenly they are tantrumming at Mum or Dad once collected.

Some parents don't believe me when I tell them that their dc are beautifully behaved and polite and thoughtful. Yes, they really can sit and work quietly for 20 minutes and then tidy up without complaint!

I went to the 9pm showing of Barbie- 9pm.
There was family there which included a baby in a car seat plus 2 very young- 3& 4 years maybe Holden. Throughout the entire film one if them was making a noise. Either the baby screaming or one of the small children running up and down the isles. They had an older tonnage child with them and she kept running about after one it other if the younger children. I think it was after 11pm when the film ended. People must have been saying things about this family as when they stood up to leave, about 5 minutes before the end by which time not only was the baby screaming but so too was one of the other children, the teenage girl turned around and was glaring at the people behind her.
Defies belief really. I haven’t been to the cinema since then.

Bloody auto correct!

Wow,.that sounds dreadful, they should let everyone know at the start that the whole group will be asked to leave if one of them misbehaves, child or adult. Sitting and watching sensibly at the theatre for a short while is really not that much to ask.

I can’t stand parents who think it’s cute when their child calls out during a show or church service. Or runs up the aisle during a wedding and pulls down the floral pew ends. Which I have seen! And the parents thought it the funniest thing they’d ever seen while the mother of the bride sat with her mouth open. Perhaps parents of small children are so sleep-deprived they forget all sense of normal behaviour and decency.

That's bad. I went to a children's theatre performance recently and the whole theatre of 0-5 year old were great and well kept in check by their parents.

Some adults can’t behave at the theatre though either. And I’m not talking pantomimes. The first time I saw Hamilton a mother and daughter in front of us sang along to practically every song. We were in the stalls and I’m only surprised a cast member didn’t tell them to shut up.