capybara Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Going back to the original post obviously it was a misjudgement to take the child but sometimes children don't behave as they do at home and given the excitement of a trip out to the theatre perhaps it was uncharacteristic. I definitely would have expected one of them to take her out as soon as possible depending where they were sitting as it wasn't fair for her or those around her. The child in question could easily have been taken out with no disruption to anyone else. I was wary of saying anything as I had once made the mistake of lightly touching a child next to me in the Stalls Circle in order to ask her not to lean out so far as I couldn't see anything. Her mother, who was nearer the stage than her, and apparently unaware of the problem thitherto, immediately rounded on me with a "Don't you dare touch my daughter" and told me that she could do what she wanted. She did but the performance was ruined for me anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SusanR Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 The child in question could easily have been taken out with no disruption to anyone else. I was wary of saying anything as I had once made the mistake of lightly touching a child next to me in the Stalls Circle in order to ask her not to lean out so far as I couldn't see anything. Her mother, who was nearer the stage than her, and apparently unaware of the problem thitherto, immediately rounded on me with a "Don't you dare touch my daughter" and told me that she could do what she wanted. She did but the performance was ruined for me anyway. Oh my goodness! This reminds me of when I was sitting in the stalls circle for a performance of Fille a few years ago. A child next to me was flailing about & being a pain throughout the first act. In the interval she was still playing up & I told her to shut up, that she had spoilt my enjoyment. The mother told me that she was only 4 & that I should not abuse children.... She obviously spoke to an usher who more or less said I could have moved, which I couldn't have done without disturbing a lot of people....I was furious that my enjoyment had been spoiled & wrote to Tony Hall but I didn't get a very satisfactory reply.Susan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 I have to say that most children I've been near/next to in theatres have been pretty well behaved. It's more eating out and on trains I've seen some pretty bad behaviour.....but perhaps I've just been unfortunate. I've also seen some wonderful parenting as well.....but interestingly I'm so pleased that I often feel I want to say something nice to the parents( which I don't in case they think I'm being patronising) However last year there were some very badly behaved children in a Pizza Express in Kings Road in Chelsea .......and they were French!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 (edited) Oh dear. I must apologise to the people around me at the back of the dress circle at yesterday's matinee of The Red Shoes at Sadlers Wells for my annoying behaviour. First of all, I was overtaken by the most appalling coughing fit towards the end of the first act. I had to bend down and fiddle around to get my water bottle out of my bag, which had somehow managed to work its way underneath my seat, and necessitated a good deal of movement on my part. When I took the top off the bottle, it gave a loud crack. Oops. Sorry. :blush: No idea what set me off, as I didn't have a cough before I went in. It was so bad, I thought I would have to get up and go out. Fortunately, I routinely carry a water bottle everywhere, and it seemed to do the trick. Edited January 27, 2017 by Fonty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colman Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 We shall have to cast you out, Fonty. Into the wilderness with you! Of course, last night we took the previously mentioned irrepressible five year old to the Moscow City Ballet version of Swan Lake in the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin last night, and more of less successfully repressed him (We had corner front circle seats which meant he couldn't annoy very many people even if he tried). No more than a little whispering and some fidgeting in his seat. Almost sure that he was less annoying than the usher charging around the place for fear of cameras or the whispering adults beside us or the lady who had to leave and return 20 minutes into the first act or the guy squeaking his seat for 30 seconds or the pop corn or … 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Oh dear, Fonty Been there, got a shopful of T-shirts by now, so I do sympathise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 It was so embarrassing, Alison. Nobody else was coughing at all. Normally, when one starts, it provokes a chain reaction. I am still puzzled by it, I could feel my whole throat seizing up. Never experienced anything like it at the theatre. They were using dry ice, but that normally doesn't cause me any problems. We shall have to cast you out, Fonty. Into the wilderness with you! I am trudging off into the wilderness to attend my Good Audience training course. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coated Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Someone recently mentioned that there is a new or different type of dry ice used that doesn't warp wood instruments in the pit. Perhaps it was a slightly different type of dry ice that set you off. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 It was so embarrassing, Alison. Nobody else was coughing at all. Normally, when one starts, it provokes a chain reaction. I am still puzzled by it, I could feel my whole throat seizing up. Never experienced anything like it at the theatre. They were using dry ice, but that normally doesn't cause me any problems. I am trudging off into the wilderness to attend my Good Audience training course. A Good Audience training course...what a great idea! No-one should be allowed through the door of any theatre without producing a certificate of completion of said course, together with an undertaking that the bearer will adhere to all that they were taught! You might be onto something there, Fonty! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Dear 'Audience Behaviour' contributors ! I'd like to ask your advice...My son (19) has in the last few months been working part time as an usher (front of house - and box office) Although the theatre reminds patrons to turn off their mobile phones/not take photos, film etc ,obviously and unfortunately there are still people who seem to lack common sense and ignore the reminders. DS came home tonight rather frustrated, as despite his best efforts audience members were still flouting the rules. As 'law abiding' audience members how would you expect an usher to operate ? Barge into your row to collar the culprits mid scene ? Wait until the interval to have a quiet word with said offenders....and do what if they continue to be a pain in the neck to their fellow audience members during the final act of the performance ? Thanking you in advance x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 He surely needs to take his cue from the management, doesn't he? If he doesn't have backup from them, things could get nasty. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 (edited) Ailson, 'the management' suggested he shine a bright light in the offenders eyes and hope for the best. Edited January 29, 2017 by Ellie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 I saw someone being asked to leave during a performance at The Lowry a couple of years ago. The action taken there depends on how accessible the seat where the offender is sitting. If they cannot be reached without disturbing other patrons then the staff wait till the interval. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 He should tell persistent offenders that as they are breaching house rules they will be ejected from the theatre at the interval if they don't stop immediately. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Thank you all for the input, I will pass it on ! As a spectator at any type of 'artistic' event, be it cinema or theatre, I personally have to curb a strong desire to slap inconsiderate people who appear to be completely unaware/uncaring of their fellow spectators and indeed performers. I remember going to watch Les Mis at the cinema and the lady sitting next to me who began to unpack and consume a whole plastic shopping bag of food - during Anne Hathaways 'I Dreamed a Dream'. My husband had to practically hold me down.... I think I'd make a very bad usher. I'd probably be done for GBH...... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Me too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqueline Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Me too! And me! But I think that would make us good ushers. It would teach obnoxious customers who ignore the rules, that yes, actually there can be consequences so no, you can't just do exactly as you please regardless!Interesting piece in today's links from The Guardian if I remember correctly about ballet/dance works and their titles. It relates, loosely, to audience behaviour so am mentioning it here. Are people put off by seemingly inaccessible and/or meaningless names given to works? They wouldn't put me off seeing something, but then I am already interested in the genre. I just find ambiguous, unpronounceable names pretentious and silly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 I must admit, I sometimes find the titles of triple bills very annoying when it sounds as though it's just something the marketing department has dreamed up to sell tickets. "Power, Passion and Treachery", that sort of thing (okay, that might work as a subheading for La Bayadere, actually ). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trog Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Yesterday arvo while watching Bolshoi's Swan Lake, four women ("blue rinsers" who should know better) constantly rabbitted on during the overture, but mercifully where silent during the first act. More constant rabbitting on during the interval and they were still at it 10 minutes into the second act. Enough is enough I thought. Do I be polite "Quiet please", sarcastic "The orchestra don't need your help" or down right rude. I opted for the latter "Shuushhhhh!" The one talking just about leapt out of her skin but it had the desired effect. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Trog's post reminded me of my recent trip to the Coliseum to see ENB's Giselle. The ladies behind me were very quiet during the first act, but just as the lights were going down for the second act, I heard one say to the other, "I don't actually know the story of Giselle. What's the second act about?" I felt my jaw starting to clench, and my lips were just beginning to form the shape for a loud SHUSH, but her companion did give a very brief and swift summary of the story, which ended with her companion saying, "So she's dead, then?" You do wonder about some of the people who attend live theatre, don't you? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqueline Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 I was at an performance of Swan Lake at the ROH some years ago. During the first interval, two women on my left were talking about what they had just seen along the lines of what on earth was that all about. I realise not everyone knows the stories but most of them are not hard to follow. Amongst other things, they thought Seigfried and Rothbart were the same person! Huh? Expecting them to tell me to mind my business, I asked if they would like me to explain the plot. They were actually very receptive and went into Act 2 feeling much less mystified. Unfortunately, it was spoiled when unrest broke out further along the balcony, over somebody's view being blocked due to a small boy and his mother leaning forward. These people were sitting just where the balcony curves and shaves off the view of the edge of the stage. The boy's mother was asked if she could sit back. She refused and a scene started to develop, angry whispering and insults. The usual form. Eventually it died down after much shushing. Towards the end of the performance - Mariinsky - a stage hand appeared on stage. It took him a few seconds to realise he was visible to the audience, in his shorts and what looked like steel capped boots. Then he was gone. Hilarious. What a great night! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixiewoo Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 I recently went to an orchestral concert in which a 'young' child repeatedly climbed over his parents, crawled on the floor, 'sang' and made a nuisance of himself. Luckily he was sitting a couple of rows in front of me, but still pretty distracting. The lady in front of me and behind asked, in the interval, if the parents were enjoying it and they said yes, she said she wasn't as their child was very distracting and they said ' he is autistic and had every right to be here ' she said that maybe it wasn't fair to everyone else AND the orchestra and was told it was perfectly fine, child loved music and it was her problem. She moved. It continued to be a problem and I wish we could have moved. If my child/rent could not sit still and quiet, I would not be taking them to live ( or even recorded/cinema ) events. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Orchestras these days seem to be pretty good at putting on child-friendly performances where greater latitude in terms of behaviour is accepted. It's a shame he couldn't have been taken to one of those (or perhaps he was, too). I guess it's the old question of whether one person's enjoyment of something should be deemed to be more important than the other 1000+ people's enjoyment of the same thing. I appreciate that it's a difficult situation, but like you, if I had a child I couldn't rely on to sit quietly during a performance I doubt I'd be taking them to standard performances, unless, perhaps, there was somewhere relatively out of the way they could sit which would minimise their impact on others. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 It seems to me that the couple with the autistic child were using the concert to get a couple of hours relief when they could just ignore him. It is possibly understandable from their point of view, but also deeply selfish. And nobody has a "right to be there", if they are preventing other people from enjoying the performance. Someone who has bought a ticket for a concert has a right to be able to listen to it without distraction. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixiewoo Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 , unless, perhaps, there was somewhere relatively out of the way they could sit which would minimise their impact on others. years ago, I worked in Sydney Australia, and one of the cinemas I visited used to have a 'sound proofed' 'box' ( for want of a better word! ) at the back of the auditorium with a couple of rows of seats in, and the whole front was a big window so you could see the screen, and the audio was piped in. So if you had a noisy child etc, you could sit in there, and not disturb other people! it was only for watching films suitable for the child to see, but I did see signs that they also did screenings of films like 'titanic' ( shows you how long ago I was there! ) that parents of small babies could go and see, and take baby with them! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trog Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Symphony Hall in Birmingham has boxes like Pixiewoo describes. On of the ushers told me that they put latecomers in there until the interval. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 ....... one of the cinemas I visited used to have a 'sound proofed' 'box' ( for want of a better word! ) at the back of the auditorium ...... If the House of Commons had one of those it would be a diplomatic way of reconciling opinions about tricky heads of state making speeches.. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickyPage Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 (edited) I felt a slow wave of horror crawl over me this afternoon during the transition between Act 2 and Act 3 of Sleeping Beauty as the entire audience unanimously decided that this was, in fact, a miniature interval and that it was absolutely fine to loudly converse with each other over the top of Tchaikovsky's score. I'm wracking my brains to try and remember if this happened the last time I was at Sleeping Beauty but I've drawn a blank. Is this common and I just somehow fell into an awed stupor last time and didn't notice it? Or are matinee audiences particularly horrific (I avoid them if I can anyway for practical timetabling reasons)? I'm afraid I also felt some loathing towards the Russians on my left. They had a little boy who sat on his mother's lap for a large portion of the performance, which might not have been too offensive if it wasn't for the fact that I was sitting in the Upper Slips, so the boy's head, feet and arms kept intruding on my view of the stage. Other people behind me had a similar problem and the family received various complaints, but the boy was once again on his mum's lap, kicking his feet into my eye line (he was only obscuring the Wolf and Red Riding Hood, thank goodness). Edited February 16, 2017 by VickyPage 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 I felt a slow wave of horror crawl over me this afternoon during the transition between Act 2 and Act 3 of Sleeping Beauty as the entire audience unanimously decided that this was, in fact, a miniature interval and that it was absolutely fine to loudly converse with each other over the top of Tchaikovsky's score. I'm wracking my brains to try and remember if this happened the last time I was at Sleeping Beauty but I've drawn a blank. Is this common and I just somehow fell into an awed stupor last time and didn't notice it? Or are matinee audiences particularly horrific (I avoid them if I can anyway for practical timetabling reasons)? This happened at the (evening) performance I went to in December, so I emailed the ROH via their website to request that they don't put up the lights at all during the pause, since people clearly think that's a signal that talking etc is OK. I received the following reply from an 'usher manager': 'Thank you for taking the time to contact the ROH. I'm sorry that your enjoyment of the performance was disrupted. I will pass on your comments to the Royal Ballet Company. I hope your next visit will go unperturbed.' Well it clearly didn't work! Not sure what else can be done. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Yes, I noticed this as well,and I was sitting I Stalls Circle with a number of people who, from their conversations appeared to be regular ballet goers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 I noticed this last time I went to SB in the previous run so sadly it is not new. If it happens to me again I too will email ROH. Why put the lights half up?? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 I'm sure the lights didn't go up very much in the pause last night (or I just didn't notice) but the chatter certainly did. It did noticeably fade away though as people realised the orchestra still playing - and even gave them a ripple of applause at the end, before the curtain went up for Act 3 Perhaps people cottoning on.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 When I was in the Stalls Circle standing before Christmas I remember there was a lot of shushing going on from the (?)regulars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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