To be annoyed at disruption in a theatre show?

[shouldwejust]

I appreciate that this is a nuanced topic, and that there possibly isn’t a right answer.

Recently I went to watch a show in the theatre that I had been looking forward to for months. The tickets were my birthday present and something I can’t usually afford, so definitely a one off treat.

Throughout the whole show, a man who had severe disabilities was shouting out and yelling. He didn’t stop at all and continuously made very loud and disruptive noises.

It completely took me out of the show, meant I struggled to concentrate and was just annoyed!

I fully appreciate that everyone in society has a right to enjoy things, and perhaps this man was looking forward to the show just as much as me! But, I don’t think that it’s fair that he disrupted the show for the entire rest of the audience who had also paid a lot to be there.

I don’t know what the solution is to be perfectly honest. That his carer removed him when he was being disruptive? That he attended one of the “autism friendly” screenings that are expected to have more disruption?

When I said this to my partner he was shocked and said that basically we should just accept that our show was ruined for his enjoyment, as that is being inclusive. I don’t feel that inclusivity should come at the cost of everyone else?

I appreciate that I may be told I am being unreasonable here but I’d like to hear other people’s opinions here

Access issues, needs wheelchair, can accommodate entrance and seating.

Hearing issues - special audio systems.

How do you deal with a screaming person ruining the show for everyone else?

Nope. One disabled persons enjoyment in a theatre of hundreds of others there, doesn’t, and shouldn’t, trump the enjoyment of everyone else. Sometimes it has to be accepted that disabled people cannot do everything that able bodied/minded people can. That’s the reality, however difficult it might be for some to accept.

Who has blamed the disabled person? Any posts that have tried to place blame on this thread have levelled it at the door of the theatre. Or even any carer(s) that were present. Not at the disabled person.

Nope. Posted above as to why this is ignorant and ableist.

How do you "reasonably accommodate" someone just screaming their head off?

And once again for those at the back...

Removing someone for their behaviour, even if that is directly related to a disability, is entirely lawful if reasonable adjustments cannot be made, or haven't been utilised, if the behaviour itself is genuinely problematic to the setting, or staff, or others at the venue.

Even levelling blame at the carers is unreasonable if the venue have not followed through with agreed adjustments. The average punter viewing the disruption from their seat has no way of knowing what’s happened or who is responsible. I’m posting from a different point of view having extensive experience of the way disabled people are so often failed like this.

And yes, I’m sorry but there are posters here intimating that the disabled person shouldn’t have attended in the first place, and even worse, linking tics with learning disabilities.

Obviously just by letting them do it and berating anyone who doesn’t want to hear it 🙄

What do you mean ‘haven’t been utilised ? That’s on the venue itself. And as I’ve said upthread, much of the time the venue will have been contacted to explain the situation in advance and ensure that adjustments can be made. If those adjustments don’t materialise on the day - and it’s my experience that they very often don’t - then removing the disabled person absolutely is unlawful.

Depends on the size and scale of the venue/the production. Might include: relaxed shows, a viewing room (where show is screened into a seperate room) or it may not be possible at all (say for a little local theatre or a one off performance) in which case its not accessible for people who need to shout and that's OK.

I mean, for example, a circumstance where relaxed shows are available and haven't been booked.

I’d wager that what’s happened here is that the venue have been informed and have agreed to make accommodations which have magically disappeared on the day. Happens all the time.

That's really interesting. So 'reasonable accommodation' is just words on paper, the venues aren't accountable for actually providing them?

What reasonable adjustment would enable him to watch a live game (so not on a screen) with no strangers around? He would struggle to even get into the stadium.

We would need an entire empty box. Family can’t afford the three seats which would be needed let alone the full box. And that’s if they’re available.

A live football game is not possible for him. And that’s ok.

Could you not have got up and gone to complain to someone, are there ushers about? That's not on,I'd of hated to have been sat behind/infront/ next to them,I think k I'd have had to say something to whoever was with him,why should a few 100 people have their night ruined,iam all for everyone having equal rights to attend things but this was not on

So when the venue shrug and say "there's nothing we can do" they actually mean "we said we'd make accommodations, but didn't follow through, and now we can't ask the person to leave".

Further to this point, accommodating him would not be reasonable as it would mean not accommodating others. Just asked my aunt and she said there are sensory rooms but the club can’t guarantee others won’t be there so they didn’t take the risk

Yes there will be people who will moan about someone with Tourettes swearing in a supermarket but they will also moan about a crying baby or a child having a tantrum so in that situation it is best ignored because the person complaining is unjustified as supermarkets are noisy anyway and it is easy to walk away from the noise into the next aisle.

At a cinema or theatre it's completely different as you know.

If a venue can reasonably be expected to make adjustments to allow inclusion and they dont, then that is discrimination. However, as perhaps in this case, the venue decides no adjustments are necessary in order to include a disabled individual then that's their choice - and the fallout is theirs to deal with.

i was at an awards show recently and two women were removed after being spoken to three times, it was very disruptive. They were drunk.

not the same as theatre but it was in a theatre and quiet was expected. People have become very entitled

Anyone can be removed from private property

Loud noises they do very well with sensory rooms I believe

Strangers not so much, and sadly that’s becoming worse as he ages, his world is shrinking. Now his leisure activities are more individual / family or where there is lots of open space, like zoos

Thats my experience. Not just with entertainment venues, it happens in other areas too. Most often travel. I will book assistance for disabled people at train/coach stations or at airports and when they get there no-one has a clue what’s been booked or who is responsible and most often the promised service fails to materialise and the person struggles. I’ve very rarely seen anyone held accountable and complaints are met with standard responses which are useless after the fact.

I’m sorry if I appear to be going against the grain here - I don’t mean to, and I understand that these things can be annoying. But having been at the business end of some staggering failures different venues and services have been guilty of, and the absolute lack of concern for the consequences to the disabled person themselves, I very rarely take things at face value any more. Those with difficult disabilities and their carers don’t have the luxury of rocking up at a venue without prior consultation and an assurance that reasonable adjustment is available. There’s no evidence that the man in OP’s scenario wasn’t subject to the same failures and just got on with it. He’s paid his money over too.

It’s not a reasonable adjustment to give up a hospitality box and the associated income for a disabled person

And also this show/viewing was not right for this person so they should have been removed

The law's more complicated than that if the removal is as a result of a protected characteristic and entry could be reasonably expected eg a paying customer in a shop. Obviously you're free to exclude who you like from your living room.