Sit Down Madam

 

As people know I’m a big Theatre fan. I’m also very clear in my mind how people should act and behave in the theatre. ie there should be a mutual respect for their fellow audience and for the performers on stage.

At the end of lockdown I remember posting about being in the audience of the musical Far From Away where I experienced , what I can only describe as a small touch of mass hysteria .where the house erupted with a spontaneous cheer and standing applause after the very first song.  

There was a hunger for that large scale experience 

A hunger and a need for it.

Recently we are hearing of episodes of bad behaviour in musical theatre productions where mainly drunken women in the audience have stopped the performances by singing along with the leads.

Now, whilst I deplore behaviour like this ( and believe me I’m not shy at saying so) I do have a degree of sympathy for the women involved who , like us all have returned to live theatre in order to have a good joint experience. 

Often the productions are led by popular songs, and at the finale they actively encourage the audience for a joined singalong of best bits so to speak .

Mamma Mia started this trick to leave people happy but the trick has rebounded somewhat, fuelled by alcohol, high ticket prices ( I’ve paid for this ticket and I’m going to have a fucking good time) and a post covid hysteria , the sort I mentioned at the start of the post.

Theatres are to blame a bit too…..to recoup their covid costs many bigger theatres are putting on crowd pleasers which will prey on those wanting a toe tapping , dancing in the aisles evening of fun .

In The Bodyguard a working bar appears on set and is used in the interval to serve the punters in the stalls.

The worst audiences I have experienced in the theatre and cinema have been in,  I’m afraid, the United States, but their British counterparts are catching up, which is a sad fact.

I’m happy to being a bit of a snob where join in pantomime productions are concerned. These are morphing into comedy gigs and concerts which are interactive to an extent and for many are becoming the norm……not in my house they’re not! 

I’m going to see two productions this week. Too Much World At Once at Theatre Clwyd and the Lawrence Olivier Award winning Pride and Prejudice* sort of  at the Storyhouse  and I shall sit there sans toffees and mobile phone and I will listen quietly and with respect.