Audience Behaviour

[simonbfisher]

Was it the young "lady" in Stalls row B who chomped her way through a large bag of individually wrapped sweets during Act 1 and then slowly and loudly washed them down with a bottle of coke in Act 2, by any chance??

[alison]

No, don't think so.  I just remember thinking "that's one for the audience behaviour thread"

[2dancersmum]

On a positive note, at Alice in Wonderland recently there were as you might expect a lot of children in the audience and there were so many going in with bags of sweets and lots of rustling noises and excited chatter - and then the dancing started and all rustling and chat stopped! I was amazed.  The only person I saw 'misbehaving' was a man with a tablet of some sort with the screen all lit up and a girl of about 5 sat next to him said in a loud whisper - put that away. Its too bright and I'm trying to watch Alice.  I don't think it was even his daughter, although he did know the child I'm sure - as it was a group of about 8 children with an adult sat each end of them.

[aileen]

When did it become the norm to eat and, more recently, drink in the theatre? It doesn't seem to happen so much at concerts although at the RAH last Christmas a person took drinks orders from a group of several people and then returned with the drinks a short time later all during the concert and it wasn't during one of those sing-along items either. As a child I went to pantomimes and I think that we may have taken sweets into the theatre then but I'm not sure. I'm disappointed that so many theatres allow drinks (fizzy and alcoholic) into the auditorium now. All these smart new and newly done up theatres are going to become very grotty in a few short years and I for one will not be giving any money to any of them for them to be refurbished.

[Jan McNulty]

Oh Aileen  - don't get me started on this one.  I don't know if they still do but some, if not all, ATG theatres sold loose popcorn!!  Not only is it messy (easy to drop all over the floor) and noisy but the stench makes me ill!!

 

 

[LinMM]

OnceI bought a single ticket for a box and was warned that there would be others in the box etc etc but I thought nothing of it as I assumed the others would all be single ticket holders as well.

I was first to arrive in box and took my seat at front on right hand side.

Then the other three arrived.....obviously all together as a group....and almost totally ignoring my presence got themselves settled,asked if I would mind moving back so they could be together which was reasonable I suppose but then proceeded to open champagne(don't know if it was a birthday being celebrated) and eat and chatted loudly....but at least not in the performance I'm glad to say just loud whispering to do with food and drink, and were not the least interested in the ballet. They completely ignored me and I felt like an intruder the whole time and I'm sure they didn't want me there.....though I started off being friendly and acknowledging etc.

so never will repeat this experience and although I might have just been unlucky with that particular group I'm not sure it's right of the ROH to sell tickets like this but perhaps they didnt realise that it's a group of three and one and not just 4 individuals......if I had known this wouldn't have bought the ticket anyway. So beware of single tickets in boxes is my advice!!

[Jan McNulty]

I got a ticket in a box in Leeds a few years ago and was in the box with 2 ladies who were together and obviously did not want me in there.  Their opening gambit was "Are you sitting in the right box/seat" and when I said yes they then proceeded to stage whisper that usually there was noone in there with them!  The box had 4 seats.  I was made to feel quite uncomfortable but fortunately it did not ruin my enjoyment of the ballet.

[JennyTaylor]

Coughing is something which annoys me - and why is it always in the most dramatic/ silent parts?  Suddenly there are coughs throughout the theatre. I've been to the ROH with a dismal cold/ cough and would recommend Potters cataargh pastiles as being the only thing that works, But if you know you are likely to cough - do something about it!  Written in the context of sitting though La Bayadere 2 nights ago with a constant cougher directly behind me... also the ROH actually provide free cough sweets!  I asked once for my mother and they produced.

[Coated]

Potter's Pastilles really do the trick, combined with a quick coughing bout during noisy scenes or clapping. If I can figure it out, why is it difficult for others to at least try?

 

Saying that, to my utter shame I managed to switch my phone on accidentally during a performance tonight by leaning my elbow on my bag. Thankfully the battery was low already, so it just sputtered for a second and went straight off again.

 

The thing that drives me mad are people leaning forwards and blocking my sight line . Recently sat in the Gods for an opera and saw no more than a third of the back of the stage due to a very tall guy leaning forwards for the entire show. I've sat in those seats a lot, and this was the first time that I could really not see a thing.

 

If it is someone right in front of me, I will ask them if they could lean less, usually in the intermission if it's not too bad. Most people seem to be alright about it, but I'll never forget the guy who offered to break my friend's finger if she tabbed him on the shoulder gain. Lovely behaviour for a Christmas Nutcracker....

Edited May 24, 2013 by Coated

[alison]

How charming.  Wonder if threatening bodily harm is enough to get you chucked out of the theatre?

 

I'm not sure it's right of the ROH to sell tickets like this but perhaps they didnt realise that it's a group of three and one and not just 4 individuals......if I had known this wouldn't have bought the ticket anyway. So beware of single tickets in boxes is my advice!!

 

I didn't think the ROH *did* sell boxes except as a 4-pack, so to speak.  This must be something new.  It can be bad at the Albert Hall, too.

 

Coughing is something which annoys me - and why is it always in the most dramatic/ silent parts?  Suddenly there are coughs throughout the theatre. I've been to the ROH with a dismal cold/ cough and would recommend Potters cataargh pastiles as being the only thing that works, But if you know you are likely to cough - do something about it!  Written in the context of sitting though La Bayadere 2 nights ago with a constant cougher directly behind me... also the ROH actually provide free cough sweets!  I asked once for my mother and they produced.

 

Trouble is, the new cough sweets at the ROH are in a rather crinkly sachet.  I haven't dared try and open one mid-performance yet, just used Lockets.  Thanks for the tip - I'd never heard of Potters.

[JennyTaylor]

Potters are really, really strong, so they do the trick -any Boots will sell them!  I'm always petrified of ruining a performance by coughing,

[Spax]

I went to the Coliseum to watch my ds in Don Quixote. Company gave us great seats. Sat down, lights went down and music started and so did the rustling! Behind me was a group of Japanese ladies having a picnic! Lady behind them went to town on them and.they never came back after first act!

[Coated]

Ugh, had a new one today - very strong bad breath gently coughed into the back of my neck in regular intervals. There's no mint in the known universe strong enough to sort that breath out, and that's a lot worse for the breather than me, but it would have been nice if he'd used a tissue or at least his hand instead of blowing it straight towards me.

[Spax]

Where do I mark comments to say 'like'

[Jan McNulty]

You should see a like this box on the right hand side of the post you want to like.  If you are signed in anonymously or not signed in you may not see the box.

[Spax]

I found it on my laptop thanks. On my iphone all I see is a 'tick' what is that for?

[Jan McNulty]

That may be an abbreviated version of the "like" button.  It is the full button on my windows phone - I don't have an i-phone so I can't comment definitively.

[Spax]

Ok thank you.

[LinMM]

Have just been checking this topic for the coughing advice so need to stock up on Potters Pastilles as am going to see Raven Girl on sat and at mo can't shake off this cough(very unlike me) and am now worried I won't be able to control it!! It's a fact but in all years on and off been going to the ballet have never yet had a cough luckily.

 

 

Once back in the 80's an alarm clock....one of those Baby Ben ones...went off in my handbag(don't ask me why I was carrying it around) right at the beginning of the second act of Giselle!! I was so embarrassed and it seemed to take forever to grab it and switch off...I did use large handbags in those days. I imagined everyone in the audience had heard it let alone the dancers and in such a quiet bit! Bet I was popular with those next to me.

[toursenlair]

Interestingly, the group I took on a ballet trip to New York last weekend were being given a tour of the David H Koch theatre at Lincoln Center where NYCB performs. Jared Angle, one of NYCB's principals, was our tour guide and he said that the dancers neve heard cellphones going off from the stage. He also said he'd never seen flashes going off but he remembered one time when an audience member sitting in about row K on the side was recording a Swan Lake performance with a camcorder and the dancers  could see the steady little light on the camera, and it made them very annoyed. But he also said that he then went out and did the best Black Swan pdd he'd ever done; it was as if he was so angry that he was provoked to show them their camera wasn't going to get in the way of a good performance!!

[Marieve]

Once back in the 80's an alarm clock....one of those Baby Ben ones...went off in my handbag(don't ask me why I was carrying it around) right at the beginning of the second act of Giselle!! I was so embarrassed and it seemed to take forever to grab it and switch off...I did use large handbags in those days. I imagined everyone in the audience had heard it let alone the dancers and in such a quiet bit! Bet I was popular with those next to me.

At least you had the decency to turn it off! When I saw Ballet Black a few weeks ago, someone's phone started ringing halfway through the third piece. The phone's owner was obviously too embarassed to draw attention to themselves and switch it off so they let it continue ringing continuously until the interval.

 

It absolutely ruined that particular ballet as it was so intrusive and, worst of all, that piece had some sections where the music stopped for several seconds and the dancers had to carry on dancing through what should have been silence! I felt so bad for them, having to maintain their concentration through that. It must have been so hard but they were very professional and got through it. I was SO annoyed though and was also unimpressed that nobody from the theatre made any effort to locate the culprit and make them turn their phone off. I honestly don't understand how some people can be so selfish.

[LinMM]

Must have been someone with a thick skin as when a phone is ringing right next to you, you can usually tell where it's coming from. People are very polite usually and don't want to actually say anything.....probably hoping dirty looks may suffice to galvanise someone's guilt....however if this doesnt work not much you can do!!

[Marieve]

They must have been sitting in between their friends as there was plenty of loud tutting going on - very thick skin indeed!

[porthesia]

Regarding coughing - my absolute phobia; thanks for the advice on Potters Pastiles.  I used to take Tunes to every performance but they seem to have gone out of business.  I have been taking Strepsils but they are in blister packs and make a noise when you get them out.  I do panic if I'm not allowed to take water into a performance, but I'm getting better and not so stressed lately. 

 

Aftershave and perfume can also be a problem - rather have it than BO but one gentleman sitting next to mest the RSC had obviously bathed in it and unfortuantely it did cause me to start coughing! 

[alison]

Ugh, yes.  I was sitting next to a lady at the theatre a while ago - middle of a row, natch - and she rather abashedly confessed to me that she was in the early stages of pregnancy and that the perfume/body spray of someone sitting in the row in front of us was so strong that it was making her feel nauseous.  Thankfully, she managed to cope with it   I have the problem that really strong perfumes can get at the back of my throat and make me cough, too.

[LinMM]

Well Porthesia the very next thing I was going to post was my fear with this cough of sitting next to someone with very strong perfume on......it can set me off even when I haven't got a cough!! I tend to use gentle Eau de Toilette type perfumes (if at all) but some people do go to town a bit!! And put on enough for a whole row!!

 

I'm in the Stalls Circle on this occasion so at least can depart more easily out if gets very bad and then stand with the standing!! It's actually got worse today but have the potters and they are very good!

[Lynette H]

A story on the BBC today about a pianist who walked out of a concert because he was being recorded on a phone.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22780812

[alison]

And how about tonight's performance of Mayerling, where the closing seconds of the ballet were accompanied by the ring of a mobile phone?

[LinMM]

I am so neurotic about forgetting to turn off my mobile that now I always leave it with my coat and shopping or bigger bag etc in the left luggage. The ROH system is very efficient and hardly delays at all at the end when retrieving things.

 

Would like to add that my cough which is calming down now again is NOT infectious. Ive also got some Olbus Oil Pastilles which are similar in what they contain to the Potters but a bit softer. They are loose in a box so no crackly foil etc. so should be easy to sneak one out without too much noise though knowing me I'll probably drop the box and empty them all over the floor!!

[MAB]

 

And how about tonight's performance of Mayerling, where the closing seconds of the ballet were accompanied by the ring of a mobile phone?

Rear Amphi? If so I heard it too, if not then sadly more than one.

[Sim]

I heard it too, in the lower slips.  The House was so silent that ringing mobile would've been heard everywhere. I was lucky enough to sit in the balcony for Act 2, and someone's mobile went off there, too. I mean, how stupid and inconsiderate can people be? We are specifically asked at the beginning of each show to ensure mobiles are off. Seems that is too much bother for some people to put themselves through!

[bangorballetboy]

I could hear the mobile from the front row.  The conductor was rolling his eyes, so I assume he could hear it too.

[alison]

Yes, MAB, it was the rear amphi.  And Sim, I agree.  Okay, perhaps people *have* to check their mobiles at the interval, but if they put the things onto Silent that would at least virtually get rid of the problem of them ringing mid-performance.

 

Having said that, I remember one performance where I suddenly realised, about a minute in, that I'd forgotten to turn mine off (I have a feeling it may have been a Romeo & Juliet, so over an hour to go before the interval).  I was then left desperately trying to remember whether the thing beeped when I did the necessary to turn it off, and whether that would be more disruptive than the very unlikely chance of it actually ringing mid-performance.