Theatre etiquette

[WillYouShutUp]

Last night we were at a musical tribute act in a theatre. 99.9% of the audience remained seated throughout the performance. About 3 people were dancing by their seats, but they were up near the back with no one behind them. There was one very drunk woman dancing near us, but she had an empty seat behind her, although i would imagine it was very annoying for the ones sitting in the row behind, watching her jumping about, waving her arms up high.
Directly in front of me was a girl probably about 9 or 10, who was encouraged to stand up and dance by her mother, who turned round to me and asked if that was ok. I replied that no, i couldn’t see, so the girl sat down again. After another few songs, the drunk lady was encouraging everyone to dance along, at which the point the mother pushed the girl into standing, where she then remained, jigging about for the rest of the performance.
I considered complaining to the staff on the door, but as i was in the middle of a row, i would have had to disturb about 12 people (twice). I didn’t want to complain to the mother directly, partly because she already knew i couldn’t see, but i didn’t want to embarrass the girl who’d been told to dance by her mother.
So, aibu to be annoyed, or is it the norm these days to block other people’s view of the stage?

If it was purely a tribute band playing a set like The Illegal Eagles then I’d say it’s no different to going to see an actual band and IME practically everyone stands the entire time

I've seen the Illegal Eagles a few times and although a few people might stand up in the aisle and dance, the vast majority remain seated. Most people are 'of the era' too - I mean older, of course. I doubt I could stand for more than 15 minutes what with my veins :) Dh and I always notice the sea of white hair.

A tribute to a paedophile. Sounds delightful.

It’s not theatre though, is it.

West End show - I stay sat and silent (apart from clapping/laughing appropriately.)

Lady Gaga at the O2 - stood up dancing for 3 hours and lost my voice from singing.

Now I can’t think of a tribute act I’d willingly go to, find it very cringe, however I’d say it’s much more leaning towards the concert side of things. Imagine it’d be very dry if everyone sat like they were at Les Mis!

😂
That was my first thought too.

This wasn’t theatre but - earlier in the week DH and I were in London on a theatre break. We went to the science museum and decided to go to the IMAX. As the film got going the little boy behind me started kicking the back of my seat. I turned around and asked the mum (who was scrolling her phone) politely if she could stop him doing it. It stopped for two minutes then started up again and went on throughout the film!

I’ve seen lots of shows where people stand up to dance albeit it’s normally at the end of the performance. And really because a few stand up at the front, it has a ripple effect ….people stand up because they can’t see and so it continues behind them and so on. Not everyone I’ve seen stand, dances, including myself, I just want to see!

I don’t know what I would have done in your situation. It was obviously a lively show, the mum paid good money for her seats and wanted to enjoy the atmosphere. Maybe in your case, if you were able to, I would have stood to the side out the way. But I think you said you’re disabled so that’s not an option for you.

Maybe in tribute type stuff, you need to think about seating more next time. I don’t go as often now but there was a period in my life where I was constantly at the theatre. I live in central London so it was easy for me to access. But I would always book end seats because I know my husband finds the seating really small and claustrophobic. Sure not much more room in the end seats but still a little more. Maybe you need to book an end seat so you have a rail to hold onto to should you need to stand to the side, or book a front row seat where these things won’t happen.

I don’t think you’re being unreasonable in that you couldn’t see, but it was obviously a lively show with good music and the mum and dad were just enjoying themselves.

You would have to be drunk to endure a Michael Jackson tribute act.

I think etiquette is performance dependent. The show you describe, I'd be more surprised if people weren't dancing. Other shows with a lot of 'high energy' music, like Six, Mama Mia etc, I'd expect mostly seated but standing/dancing at the end on invitation from the cast. I find it helpful to read reviews because they will usually say 'had people dancing in the aisles' or some such so you know what you're getting.