Audience Behaviour

[Colman]

26 minutes ago, trog said:

Grade 1 is easy - you ask audience members a question like "Who is your favourite dancer?" and if they answer Fonteyn/Nureyev/Bussell etc, it's obvious that these are the only dancers they have heard of and they are barred

 

And if they say "gosh, I don't know, there are so many" you usher them through?

[bridiem]

I'm all in favour of performances for those who CAN'T keep quiet; not keen on accommodating those who simply don't want to. For their sake too, in fact - if you chat etc during a live performance, you break the really powerful link that (at best) is formed between the performers and the audience so that the audience is completely drawn into what is happening on stage and for that period of time no-one and nothing else exists.

[Jillykins]

Last night at Marinsky Swan Lake as the music started in act 4 an usher, in stalls circle, had to shout loudly"turn off your phones please". Previously he had to ask a couple in front row three times to remove scarves and bottles from the ledge. Another woman in very heavy shoes clumped round the outside of seats very loudly during the performance. Don't know where she went. Never been in such a restless audience before. In contrast a small girl abou 5 years old watched quietly and didn't make a sound. She enjoyed it!

[MAB]

3 hours ago, trog said:

Grade 1 is easy - you ask audience members a question like "Who is your favourite dancer?" and if they answer Fonteyn/Nureyev/Bussell etc, it's obvious that these are the only dancers they have heard of and they are barred

 

Hang on, if I answer truthfully that my fave is Fonteyn I'm barred?  Where's the fairness in that?

[KathyE8]

In mid June I attended the Natalia Kremen Ballet Foundation Gala  at Cadogan Hall - I was sitting in row A of the side gallery - there were plenty of empty spaces so people moved around - 2 Russian women sittng behind me spoke to each other constantly for about 20 minutes - when the applause was loud enough I turned to them and asked "are you going to speak throughout the whole performance?  I added "out of respect for the dancers!    Luckily after the interval they found somewhere else to sit.  I don't know whether this is a cultural difference - but I don't think so - when the Bolshoi were here last year there were lots of Russians in the audience and they managed to keep quiet duirng the performance.

 

On another occasion a few years back I was sitting on a bench seat in the Stalls Circle next to a man and woman who chatted a bit to me in the interval, as the lights went down they were still chatting to each other, a person in front of them turned around and told them to shussh (which was like a red rag to a bull) - the man told them that he did not need any one to tell me to fxxxing shussh - he was so loud that a member of the orchestra, a big chap, looked over furiously.   I felt so embarassed I just hoped that people would not assume I was friends with him!    At the end of the performance I heard the dreadful man say to his companion that some people are so rude!!!! Talk about lack of self perception!

 

[MAB]

No, not all Russians are performance talkers, it seems to be prevalent amongst those known as 'New Russians',  They are however compulsive seat hoppers both here and at home.

[Lizbie1]

35 minutes ago, MAB said:

No, not all Russians are performance talkers, it seems to be prevalent amongst those known as 'New Russians',  They are however compulsive seat hoppers both here and at home.

 

And shameless about it! Many a time I was told in no uncertain terms to squeeze up on a bench seat at the Moscow Conservatory by a babushka without a ticket who'd presumably been let in by a friend!

 

Agree that the talking is a New Russian thing, and furthermore largely confined to the ballet - though that may be because Novi Russkis don't bother much with opera or classical concerts.

[nickwellings]

Wonderfully strange moment tonight,fully corroborating what many here have deduced over the years:

 

The music started at the very start of Act II at Mariinsky Swan Lake tonight. Two ladies were talking loudly over the music. My friend says "Shhhhh" to them. One talker shoots back "It hasn't even started yet!". My friend emphatically says "IT HAS!".

 

Truly, it does indeed appear that some people believe that unless there's dancing going on and if the curtain is down, you're ok to chat away!

[capybara]

We reached our seats upstairs at Sadlers Wells about  7 minutes before curtain up and spent those minutes being knocked on the head by passing handbags, bumped into by from behind by passing bottoms and being enveloped by passing coats. HOWEVER.... it did look as one of the seats in front of us might not be occupied. But, wait......here comes a late arrival and, sure enough, the tallest man imaginable lowered himself into the vacant seat. OK, tough luck, but we can just about see the stage if one of us leans to the left and the other to the right. Whoops, no we can’t because he’s leaning forward to put his drink on the floor and bending forward again to pick it up, something he kept doing throughout the show. He also had a special line in raising his elbows to one side or another or scratching the top of his head, all perfect for blotting one’s view entirely. Two seats along, someone decided to lean forward throughout Act 2, thus impeding the scene for the person behind her. Further towards the front, phones were being switched on and off and shining brightly. And, towards the end, my seat was being kicked from behind.

Don’t people realise the extent to which what they do affects the audience members around them?

Don’t answer that ....... clearly they don’t!

 

 

[Lizbie1]

I don't think the Sadlers Wells crowd is always very considerate

 

That said, there were some beautifully behaved young children on my row yesterday afternoon (the oldest not more than seven, I'd guess), who put some of the adults to shame.

[Geoff]

Last night, Duke of York's (to see "Ink"), one of the more nicely refurbished West End theatres. ATG Group, so people brought in beer bottles, which they later left rolling around empty (a definite tripping hazard).

 

And - which triggers this post as it is a first for me - a couple in a box took off their shoes and put their feet up on the rail, waving the soles of their feet at the, I assume, astonished audience. Comfy for them no doubt: go to the theatre, put your feet up.

 

 

Edited October 12, 2017 by Geoff

[Ian Macmillan]

A West End theatre group has apparently started to limit/eliminate scrunchy packaging .......

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/it-s-crunch-time-for-noisy-eaters-at-west-end-shows-x6vglc8gf?shareToken=2ab618ad2394b9ec918cb1ea199744a4

 

... thus eliciting an Editorial reaction:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/scrrunch-poor-yorick-kg2z52ghm?shareToken=c288e068c0001aae261ee5c5b06c3c4f

 

 

[Sim]

And of course, it's not only the people onstage who are disturbed.  No-one has mentioned the fact that many audience members are also distracted and disturbed by the sound of rustling and the smell of food when they are trying to immerse themselves in the play, ballet, opera or whatever.  I want to enter the world onstage and not come back until it's finished:  I don't want to be brought back to reality by the sound of rustling sweet packets or the stink of various flavoured crisps, salami sarnies, or whatever.  

 

I agree with the Times editorial, but then I guess these days I'd just be considered as a conservative old fud as it seems that we have to make concessions to today's younger audiences who are apparently incapable of going for an hour or two without eating.  That is certainly not true of many young people I know.  

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Sim said:

 I don't want to be brought back to reality by the sound of rustling sweet packets or the stink of various flavoured crisps, salami sarnies, or whatever.  

  

........... or an overbearing smell of alcoholic drink.

 

Please enrol me in your fuddy duddy club, Sim.

[ninamargaret]

In the late 50s I used to sell programmes and chocs at my local Rep theatre. A chocolate company produced what they called 'theatre chocolates', which were all non crunchy chocs and the whole package was packed in non rustling wrapping. They were very successful!

[ninamargaret]

3 minutes ago, capybara said:

  

........... or an overbearing smell of alcoholic drink.

 

Please enrol me in your fuddy duddy club, Sim.

Me too!

[RuthE]

Yes... I don't suppose I ever realized how strong a smell red wine has until theatres started letting people take it in with then!

[alison]

Quite honestly, the smell of red wine tends to turn my stomach completely

[Sharon]

Blondie - I actually have experienced a snooty elderly woman sitting in front of us, turn around and tell us off, exclaiming "some people don't know how to behave in a theater!" And this was because our seriously ill friend, who was in a wheelchair, 'managed' to shout bravo at the end of a spectacular performance by Dance Theatre of Harlem. To say that we, her friends, were fuming with this woman is an understatement. Our friend had a smile on her face for the first time in weeks and was told off for expressing her enjoyment. The audience were clapping and cheering and she has the cheek to snarl at our friend. How dare she!

Edited December 6, 2017 by Sharon

[Sharon]

I have also experienced noisey audiences - in particular deciding to open a difficult bag of sweets and then offer them to their companions - during a pdd! And yes I did shush them. I think the theatres are definitely at fault here for selling the things. And making noises, disturbing your fellow audience is annoying. But cheering, shouting bravo, or standing at the end is acceptable in my book. I also don't mind when occasionally someone claps after a solo - not everyone knows the right time to clap or that the dance isn't finished. The thunderous silence around them normally gives them a hint pretty quick. 😉 

Edited December 6, 2017 by Sharon

[Tony Newcombe]

The rattle of ice cubes and slurping through a straw annoy me intensely

[taxi4ballet]

1 hour ago, Sharon said:

Blondie - I actually have experienced a snooty elderly woman sitting in front of us, turn around and tell us off, exclaiming "some people don't know how to behave in a theater!" And this was because our seriously ill friend, who was in a wheelchair, 'managed' to shout bravo at the end of a spectacular performance by Dance Theatre of Harlem. To say that we, her friends, were fuming with this woman is an understatement. Our friend had a smile on her face for the first time in weeks and was told off for expressing her enjoyment. The audience were clapping and cheering and she has the cheek to snarl at our friend. How dare she!

I think a quiet, discreetly-placed "Eff off" (or other suitable expletive of your choice) in her ear would have been the appropriate response here...

[Geoff]

What is it with me and feet in the auditorium? A few weeks ago I posted here about the couple who took their shoes off and put their feet up on the ledge of the box they were in. Well, Row B of Coliseum Upper Circle for Zakharova, Saturday night,  hello lady with the large woolly boots, no doubt everything was aching just a bit but none of us appreciated you taking both boots off and keeping them off for the whole show. You're not at home. Just saying.

 

Much appreciate Nimax (who put on many great shows) finally getting to grips with noisy food and drink. 

 

[Geoff]

Oh dear:

 

https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2017/theatre-producer-punched-asking-audience-member-stop-using-phone/

 

Edited December 9, 2017 by Ian Macmillan
URL Font size reduced

[Sim]

That's awful, Geoff.  Another example of how the world is declining around us.  

[Sim]

HI folks.....can we please stick to audience behaviour issues on this thread......many thanks!

[Geoff]

Maybe an admin might move the veal debate to its own thread in Not Dance?

 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2017 by Geoff

[Coated]

Back to audiences and their inability to use/carry tissues.

 

Is it really that hard? Did no one ever explain to them that their nose is for breathing, not sound production? 

[John Mallinson]

5 hours ago, Geoff said:

Maybe an admin might move the veal debate to its own thread in Not Dance?

 

Done.

[Sim]

7 hours ago, Coated said:

Back to audiences and their inability to use/carry tissues.

 

Is it really that hard? Did no one ever explain to them that their nose is for breathing, not sound production? 

This is a real bug-bear of mine.  Not only in the theatre, but on my bus commute every day there are people snorting like pigs.  It sounds like feeding time at the zoo.

[capybara]

15 hours ago, Coated said:

Back to audiences and their inability to use/carry tissues.

 

Is it really that hard? Did no one ever explain to them that their nose is for breathing, not sound production? 

 

I find the habit difficult to tolerate as well. However, I think we have to understand that, in some cultures, it is the norm to sniff in one's mucous rather than to blow it out.

[Sim]

But not in our culture....so they should respect that (if they are aware that it is not the done thing here!).   

[penelopesimpson]

5 hours ago, Sim said:

But not in our culture....so they should respect that (if they are aware that it is not the done thing here!).   

Oh goodness, yes.  It makes me feel physically sick and I find it hard to ignore.  Horrible.  Another one is men blowing their noses and inspecting the contents.