LinMM Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Well I don't really have a problem with people using their phones in an interval etc but it did seem a bit gross that evening as Faun is not that long and the pause .....with dimmed house lights is not that long either!! So to immediately grab ones phone and switch on after less than 20 mins in the seat seemed a bit much Although I'm old I'm not too much of an old fogey and understand that mobiles and iPads (I'm always on mine) are very much part of modern life. But one does have to be careful for it not to become an addiction I suppose! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Well I don't really have a problem with people using their phones in an interval etc but it did seem a bit gross that evening as Faun is not that long and the pause .....with dimmed house lights is not that long either!! So to immediately grab ones phone and switch on after less than 20 mins in the seat seemed a bit much Although I'm old I'm not too much of an old fogey and understand that mobiles and iPads (I'm always on mine) are very much part of modern life. But one does have to be careful for it not to become an addiction I suppose! Well last night I was just finishing a conversation with someone in NYC about the mixed bill so, in my opinion and bearing in mind I was on my own, no different from continuing a conversation with my neighbour. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLOSS Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) Well we keep hearing that people's attention span is much shorter than it used to be perhaps the use of mobile phones whenever the opportunity arises is a manifestation of this.But it could be a manifestation of the reality that most people get their entertainment at home rather than in the theatre or cinema and as a result they are not socialized into the norms of behaviour deemed appropriate when engaged in collective entertainment. As the antisocial behaviour ranging from talking and eating to mobile phone use seems to afflict all age groups and classes it is probably the dominance of home entertainment that is the cause but may be it's not that new.Audience behavior must have been a problem in the nineteen fifties as Jerome Robbins includes women chatting and the distracting noise caused by rummaging in a handbag in his ballet the Concert. Today he would almost certainly include ring tones and selfies. But it does seem to be a lot worse now.As people spend increasing amounts of time in their own world rather than with others outside their family group they appear to be less sensitive to the needs and rights of other people. It can't be too long before someone writes a book of popular sociology or psychology which explains the compelling need that people now have for outside stimulus and why live theatrical has become something that a significant group of people now tune in and out of.But it is still possible to find an attentive audience who do not suffer from telephonephilia and one which is not plagued by persistent coughers and hackers who clearly ought to be at a chest hospital. This ideal audience is to be found listening to Wagner. Perhaps we should not be surprised by this phone obsessed behavior in the theatre when we see people standing on the steps at the entrances to underground stations engrossed in conversation on their phones totally oblivious to the swirl of people around them and to the fact that they are blocking the entrance for other people and other people walking along the pavement staring at their phones rather than watching where they are going. Obviously the interior life is far more real to them than the external one.Whoever writes that book is likely to make a mint. Edited June 5, 2015 by FLOSS 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 We need a theatre historian here but I thought the idea of the theatre as a temple of high art in which the audience was supposed to sit passively in reverential silence was relatively recent - that is since the late 19th Century. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickwellings Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Quite so, it is a fairly recent idea, but its one I firmly believe should be adhered to! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trog Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I have changed my avatar in response to this thread 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I think a lot of the mobile phone issues are a reflection of society's phone obsession and for a lot of people it's normal behaviour and they have no insight. I'm a health worker and more than once a patient has had a conversation on the phone when in a consultation. I've even had someone texting when I was examining them..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 That's what I mean by it becoming an addiction! Inappropriate use of and completely controlled by the phone rather than you being in control of it. This means everytime a user hears a ping that a message etc has come in they just have to look right then .....even if under examination by a doctor....that to me would be an addictive use of the phone. Of course there are those occasions when one is expecting a genuinely urgent call but there are not many that can't be deferred for 10 mins or so!!! BBB I already said that using a phone in the interval is okay.....even though I wouldn't myself purely because I always leave my phone down with my bag and coat in the cloakroom ......I'm so neurotic about forgetting to turn the damn thing off!! This is a bit ridiculous the other way I know but it all goes back to an alarm clock going off in my handbag(pre mobile era) right in the middle of a quiet bit of Giselle and don't ask why I had a Baby Ben alarm clock in my handbag as Ive forgotten myself now ....but it felt as if the whole theatre could hear it!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 I was in the second row at Opera Holland Park on Friday, and at the start of Gianni Schicchi - at which point the house lights are down (and it's getting dark outside), the conductor has entered, and there are three minutes of "dumb show" with performers on stage prior to the start of the music - there were several people in front of me (i.e. on the front row) openly still fiddling with their email on brightly-lit phone screens. Apparently until the music starts it doesn't matter. FFS, you're in the front row.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 No, Ruth, it's not when the music starts, it's when the curtain goes up. Numerous ballet-visitors at the ROH and Coliseum will tell you it's perfectly fine to carry on talking/texting etc. as long as the curtain hasn't gone up. After all, these overture-thingies and entr'actes are only background music, aren't they? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Clearly that's Opera Holland Park's problem then - no curtain... (As an aside on that subject - I always end up applauding at the end while studiously staring down at my lap while "dead" people get up off the stage for the bows, often in broad daylight. In Trittico that happens twice...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon2 Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 We went to a performance recently and had a group of what can only be described as precocious girls behind us. All through the first act the glares from my neighbour did nothing to halt their dreadful behaviour but at the interval I spoke to one of the adults accompanying them who where for obvious reasons sat as far removed from them as possible about what a disruption they were and as the 2nd row the dancers had to be aware. The adults spread themselves amoung the group for the second half so were slightly better behaved but what amused us was the way they sat still in silence during interval because every single one of them was on a phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellini Pointe Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 I attended a music festival last year where the first half of the final Concert was shared between two world famous musicians playing ambient and relaxing music. Just near the door to the Balcony and close to where I was sat was propped a very drunk woman who insisted on shouting very loudly down to them . Lots of whooping and what she clearly thought were "witty" comments. It was also being filmed so such a shame that the soundtrack will contain her contributions. People were asking the staff to remove her but they did nothing . They allowed her back in for the second half which consisted of much louder music and she could still be heard over that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Should you wish to take matters into your own hands at the ROH, it appears that they are looking for new Ushers: http://recruitment.roh.org.uk/vacancyView.php?requirementId=2021 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Man jumps on stage to charge phone in fake power point at Broadway theatre - Independent. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I had a bad audience behaviour experience the other day at Cinderella. Two women two rows in front of me kept whipping out their phones and starting to film parts of the performance (this after they'd taken a good three or four minutes after each act started to stop texting in the first place). I spoke to an usher in the first interval, who seemed sympathetic and said something would be done about it. Sadly, they were still there and still filming in Act 2, and in Act 3 after I'd complained again! Not impressed at all, particularly given that there are other ushers at the Coli who would have immediately noticed the filming themselves and put a stop to it (none of whom were on duty in the dress circle that night). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 How annoying! The trouble is I can't remember if the Coli makes an announcement about mobiles whereas the ROH always does including saying that filming of the performance is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. Perhaps they have just given up trying to police it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I had a bad audience behaviour experience the other day at Cinderella. Two women two rows in front of me kept whipping out their phones and starting to film parts of the performance (this after they'd taken a good three or four minutes after each act started to stop texting in the first place). I spoke to an usher in the first interval, who seemed sympathetic and said something would be done about it. Sadly, they were still there and still filming in Act 2, and in Act 3 after I'd complained again! Not impressed at all, particularly given that there are other ushers at the Coli who would have immediately noticed the filming themselves and put a stop to it (none of whom were on duty in the dress circle that night). Blimey - they usually jump all over you if you try to take a curtain call photo... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 The Coli usually pounces on people as soon as they see them taking photos. I have been castigated a few times for taking a photo of the curtain calls! They are much stricter than the ROH in this regard, so I am very surprised that nothing was done about these women despite two complaints. They should be consistent with their policy: why let people openly film bits of a performance when some of us get jumped on just for taking a photo of the curtain call? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 My neighbours at yesterday's RBS matinee were absent for the first half, spent the latter part of the interval taking selfies and smooching, (she) flicked her long hair in my face several times and, having taken her shoes off, balanced her feet on the edge of my seat, spent the second half cuddled up and kissing with no regard for the people in the row behind them, and had their phones out the minute the curtain came down. Why bother to come? Did they not realise that seats for that performance are like gold dust? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Don't Capybara I would have been incandescent in my older age!! Feet up on your seat what a cheek The trouble is many people behave as if they were in their own sitting room at home ....just don't seem to have any awareness of different locations and what is appropriate behaviour. I always ask myself is this reasonable behaviour in the circumstances before getting worked up though. It's trying to find a way of speaking to people with good grace .....so as not to get their backs up so to speak .....but as I often can't find a way I often say nothing!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm365 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 And unfortunately some of this behaviour doesn't show up until after the performance has started, and then one has to weigh up whether it would cause more disruption to remonstrate than let it go ahead. Sometimes even a 'shush'! can provoke a verbal come back!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I agree that it is all too easy for a perfectly reasonable request to elicit an antagonistic response from the 'offender(s)'. I did 'remove' the feet (silently) having first asked the young woman if she realised she was flicking her long hair across my face. The rest was really for the people behind to 'mention' if they were inconvenienced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I had a bad audience behaviour experience the other day at Cinderella. Two women two rows in front of me kept whipping out their phones and starting to film parts of the performance (this after they'd taken a good three or four minutes after each act started to stop texting in the first place). I spoke to an usher in the first interval, who seemed sympathetic and said something would be done about it. Sadly, they were still there and still filming in Act 2, and in Act 3 after I'd complained again! Not impressed at all, particularly given that there are other ushers at the Coli who would have immediately noticed the filming themselves and put a stop to it (none of whom were on duty in the dress circle that night). I was in the balcony at the Coli on Friday, Ruth, and an usher pounced on a mobile phone user within seconds of the phone coming out at the start of the first act. The same usher was visibly prowling the aisles at the end of the intervals. Perhaps they are less vigilant in other parts of the house - if, indeed, you were sitting in another part of the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I was in the balcony at the Coli on Friday, Ruth, and an usher pounced on a mobile phone user within seconds of the phone coming out at the start of the first act. The same usher was visibly prowling the aisles at the end of the intervals. Perhaps they are less vigilant in other parts of the house - if, indeed, you were sitting in another part of the house. Yes, I was in the dress circle. I agree, I've usually found Coli staff to be very good in that respect - it varies with regard to which ones *notice* people getting their phones out, but once noticed, it's usually dealt with swiftly. And quite frankly, if they were having a particularly unobservant night, the repeated complaints combined with precise information about which seats the offenders were in might have given them a clue. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I've been 'pounced on' by an usher who rather aggressively demanded that I stop using my mobile phone... the house lights hadn't even gone down, and the only reason I had my phone in my hand was because I'd got it out of my bag to switch it off! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Shortcake Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Let's not forget that in the good old days before mobile phones we had the idiots who insisted on taking flash photos, even when the programme and pre-performance announcements made it clear that this was strictly forbidden. In the early 80s my mother and I attended a Nureyev Festival/Boston Ballet performance of "Swan Lake" at the Coliseum and were amazed at the number of people taking flash photos - the auditorium kept lighting up like a Christmas tree! In the first interval the FOH manager appeared on stage to admonish the culprits, to no avail. At the second interval he appeared again, this time to announce that Nureyev had threatened to abandon the performance unless the flash photography ceased! Fortunately this had the desired effect... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Welcome to the forum, Alice (interesting name, there!), and thanks for sharing your memories. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 Article in the Toronto Globe and Mail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Interesting, Janet, thank you. I thought this particular quote in the article was worth noting: “If you’re onstage, you notice every single person who’s texting,” said actor Will Swenson, whose Broadway credits include starring roles in Les Miserables and Hair. The lights from phones must be very distracting for dancers and that is actually more disconcerting than what they are doing to neighbours in the audience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 Yes, James Barton of BRB tweeted something similar a few months ago. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 I can't get the URL but this is what James Barton tweeted on 19th February: "Theatre goers - Read and take heed. We can see you texting from the stage. Thanks!" In response to this article from The Guardian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 (edited) This is why I don't quite understand, if performers can see it, why ushers can't - or claim not to be able to! (The other night at Opera Holland Park I happened to find myself sitting next to the redoubtable Ann from front-of-house at the Coliseum, who I swear can spot a rogue texter from the other side of a solid wall...) One thing I like when I'm in central Balcony Standing at the ROH is that there's an usher seated directly behind, and as *I* have a panoramic view of the Balcony from there, I can immediately alert the usher to any bright lights that shouldn't be there. Edited July 22, 2015 by RuthE 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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