Jump to content

Audience Behaviour


Recommended Posts

At the first night of Manon I was in the front row of the Stalls Circle, which, as everyone knows, does not give very much leg room. Next to me were two girls who had both been allowed to bring their back packs with them. To be fair, not the really huge variety, but enough to  cause discomfort, both for them and for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 2.8k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

I have to confess to being a back-pack (rucksack) serial offender - but I usually stand at ROH, so I can tuck it away easily. When I do sit (at Sadlers for example) i have perfected the art of burying under my knees. Its only a problem when I have to get it up again because of middle-of-the-row latecomers arriving (I'm usually very near the end of a row) and so they don't trip over it. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel the need to apologise to the the 5th April Manon cast for inadvertently walking out before their curtain calls were over. So discourteous, but there was a very long pause before the final red run bow and, along with many others, I thought that they had finished. I'm sorry, too, if I blocked anyone's view but, once my mistake was obvious (to me), the only thing to do was to hurry on out - where, incidentally, I encountered hundreds of other early leavers. Oh dear!

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, capybara said:

I feel the need to apologise to the the 5th April Manon cast for inadvertently walking out before their curtain calls were over. So discourteous, but there was a very long pause before the final red run bow and, along with many others, I thought that they had finished. I'm sorry, too, if I blocked anyone's view but, once my mistake was obvious (to me), the only thing to do was to hurry on out - where, incidentally, I encountered hundreds of other early leavers. Oh dear!

 

It was indeed confusing, capybara! I also thought the curtain calls had finished, as many others clearly did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 26/03/2018 at 18:38, RuthE said:

But criticism itself is not unreasonable.  Having an opinion - or indeed observing factual negative points (such as a dancer having fallen out of a step or a singer having been out of tune) - is normal, as is discussing it with your companion.  What is not reasonable is stating factual untruths and expecting them not to be challenged, as well as making the assumption that everyone else* deserves to hear your opinion, whether they want it or not.

 

*"Everyone else" perhaps including the artists themselves; in BBB's anecdote above, it's quite possible that the person in question was within earshot of the people he was denigrating.  The same applies to making negative remarks about performers on social media with their names tagged in so they have it pop up in their feed.

We have a habitual stater of factual untruths in our office. When questioned or corrected they can become quite aggressive and will insist, even in the face of their demonstrable - and often demonstrated - inaccuracy, that they are right. Goodness only knows what they are like at the theatre or a concert or sporting event, where they have a different and captive audience. It is very wearing and I wish I felt able to suggest that some sort of counselling or psychological treatment (or even presumably psychiatric treatment) for their habitual lying to ‘big themselves up’ would be appropriate. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

Wonderful night at Macbeth on Wednesday, apart from adjoining mother and daughter.  Mother had to get up to go to the loo after an hour of Macbeth and was let back in again.  Unbelievably, same in second half.  Yes, its a long opera, but...  Daughter had fur coat, raincoat, hand baggage and carry-on suit carrier.  Unbelievable.

 

It really is unbelivable that they were let back in, Penelope. The only time that this has happened to me (or, more accurately, mine) was some years ago when my then fairly young children wanted to see La Cenerentola. We had deliberately chosen seats at the back so that no-one would be disturbed if they became fidgety, arrived just before the lights went down due to parking problems and the usher, bless him, suggested that they might need to go to the loo as it would be an hour and a half before the interval, assuring us that he would quickly and quietly bring them back in which he duly did, with no fuss, no noise, no disturbance to anyone and three very grateful children.

 

Coming back to Macbeth, and wasn't it fabulous, did anyone else notice that the choreographer was the much-acclaimed Michael Keegan-Dolan?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 07/04/2018 at 17:22, penelopesimpson said:

Wonderful night at Macbeth on Wednesday, apart from adjoining mother and daughter.  Mother had to get up to go to the loo after an hour of Macbeth and was let back in again.  Unbelievably, same in second half.  Yes, its a long opera, but...  Daughter had fur coat, raincoat, hand baggage and carry-on suit carrier.  Unbelievable.

I used to be a Theatre Manager at the local beautiful Victorian Theatre. Stewards were all volunteers. I ‘encouraged’ them all to be more confident when politely ‘enforcing’ theatre etiquette. Leaving or entering during a performance or latecomers in general, the latter being my main bugbear. We even changed suppliers of the water bottles sold as the plastic crackled very noisely and removed confectionary that required unwrapping. One for litter reasons as well as the obvious noise issue.

We didn’t expect the audience to sit there in silence but we acknowledged that whilst Theatres are  trying to please and entice a new and larger audiences we should all try to maintain the etiquette thats worked for years and reflect in the respect for the performers themselves aswell as other members of the audience. If not, It won’t be long before Theatres revert back to Elizabethan days (I don’t think I need to explain what happened back then). 😉

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, balletbean said:

I used to be a Theatre Manager at the local beautiful Victorian Theatre. Stewards were all volunteers. I ‘encouraged’ them all to be more confident when politely ‘enforcing’ theatre etiquette. Leaving or entering during a performance or latecomers in general, the latter being my main bugbear. We even changed suppliers of the water bottles sold as the plastic crackled very noisely and removed confectionary that required unwrapping. One for litter reasons as well as the obvious noise issue.

We didn’t expect the audience to sit there in silence but we acknowledged that whilst Theatres are  trying to please and entice a new and larger audiences we should all try to maintain the etiquette thats worked for years and reflect in the respect for the performers themselves aswell as other members of the audience. If not, It won’t be long before Theatres revert back to Elizabethan days (I don’t think I need to explain what happened back then). 😉

Well, quite.  Whilst I don’t expect people to don ballgowns and dinner jackets, thegeneral scruffiness that prevailsthese days makes me sad.  I love seeing the families that make an effort, particularly when little girls attend the ballet.  Wednesday night theapproved dress appeared to be jeans with knapsacks the must-have accessory.  The cloakroom problems have contributed to the free-for-all with coats and bags.  Why does widening audience appeal meaning dumbing down?  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Well, quite.  Whilst I don’t expect people to don ballgowns and dinner jackets, thegeneral scruffiness that prevailsthese days makes me sad.  I love seeing the families that make an effort, particularly when little girls attend the ballet.  Wednesday night theapproved dress appeared to be jeans with knapsacks the must-have accessory.  The cloakroom problems have contributed to the free-for-all with coats and bags.  Why does widening audience appeal meaning dumbing down?  

 

I think it depends where you're sitting - no-one expects habitués of the Upper Slips to be dressed to the nines.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Scheherezade said:

Coming back to Macbeth, and wasn't it fabulous, did anyone else notice that the choreographer was the much-acclaimed Michael Keegan-Dolan?

 

I've moved the discussion of Macbeth to a separate thread in Not Dance, so that it doesn't get lost in the nearly 70 pages of this thread!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

I think it depends where you're sitting - no-one expects habitués of the Upper Slips to be dressed to the nines.

Actually, I was commenting on the people in the people in the Hall at the interval.  And I don't mean dressed to the nines - just not jeans and rucksacks!  Going to ROH is always special and I can't understand why people don't want to make a bit of an effort.  It just adds so much to the whole experience.  But, sadly, I expect it is my age talking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Actually, I was commenting on the people in the people in the Hall at the interval.  And I don't mean dressed to the nines - just not jeans and rucksacks!  Going to ROH is always special and I can't understand why people don't want to make a bit of an effort.  It just adds so much to the whole experience.  But, sadly, I expect it is my age talking.

 

Maybe it's my age talking, but I don't understand why what people wear to the ROH or any other venue should be of any concern to others, provided their clothes are clean.  People should be comfortable in themselves and, to me, that's what important.

  • Like 15
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

Actually, I was commenting on the people in the people in the Hall at the interval.  And I don't mean dressed to the nines - just not jeans and rucksacks!  Going to ROH is always special and I can't understand why people don't want to make a bit of an effort.  It just adds so much to the whole experience.  But, sadly, I expect it is my age talking.

 

I'm not sure it's age, penelopesimpson. I'm not exactly young, but I'm just not someone who enjoys dressing up. I understand your view, but I think that for some people clothes are a way of expressing pleasure at going somewhere or doing something; for others, they're just not. If I absolutely have to, I do make a bit of an effort; but it causes nothing but stress! And I don't regard going to the ROH (or any other theatre) as somewhere where it's necessary, maybe because I always sit in the Amphi, where I am in no way out of place. (In fact, my sister has very kindly bought tickets for us in the front row of the Stalls Circle for a performance of Swan Lake, and I'm already feeling a bit anxious about being in such elevated surroundings! I won't wear jeans, and I don't want to feel out of place, but I don't want to worry more about my clothes than about the performance!).

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The (unofficial?) dress code for the ROH has certainly changed since I first went in 1984.  It seems much more relaxed and I am much happier about that.  I usually try to sit in the stalls and I am quite happy to wear jeans there.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, bridiem said:

 

I'm not sure it's age, penelopesimpson. I'm not exactly young, but I'm just not someone who enjoys dressing up. I understand your view, but I think that for some people clothes are a way of expressing pleasure at going somewhere or doing something; for others, they're just not. If I absolutely have to, I do make a bit of an effort; but it causes nothing but stress! And I don't regard going to the ROH (or any other theatre) as somewhere where it's necessary, maybe because I always sit in the Amphi, where I am in no way out of place. (In fact, my sister has very kindly bought tickets for us in the front row of the Stalls Circle for a performance of Swan Lake, and I'm already feeling a bit anxious about being in such elevated surroundings! I won't wear jeans, and I don't want to feel out of place, but I don't want to worry more about my clothes than about the performance!).

 

I have worn t-shirt and shorts in the grand tier, so please don't feel you can't wear jeans in the stalls circle!

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

And I've worn I think a sweatshirt or T-shirt and jeans there - but admittedly that *was* when I'd been unexpectedly moved there, and I would probably have put something a little smarter on had I known I was going to be sitting there!  Possibly I've never entirely got over the trepidation of my first visit, 30-odd years ago, when I wondered whether even my very best dress would be good enough, and whether I'd even be allowed through the door!  (Of course, when I actually got in there, and looked around me, my shoulders relaxed and I mentally went "Oh, right" :) )  I'm not sure the ROH had a dress code even back in those days, but we have to acknowledge that on the whole people these days are more casual in their approach to what to wear for more or less all theatrical performances anyway.

 

With regard to the ROH, and particularly to the Royal Ballet, you also have to recognise that quite a significant portion of the audience are of the "rarely miss a performance" variety.  I guess that when you go that often a venue doesn't feel as "special" as it does when it's a rare treat that you make a special effort for (and especially at the moment, when it's been a building site for a couple of years - and you're having to run the gauntlet of the demonstrators outside).  Talking of the building works, with the upper break-out areas being unavailable at the moment, you'll probably find a lot of people down in the Floral Hall who wouldn't normally be sitting there - not that they have any less right to sit there than the people in the "posh seats", of course.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As somebody who habitually wears (clean!) jeans & takes a (smallish) backpack to sit in any seat (yes, from the stalls, through the grand tier to the amphitheatre), I’m suprised that someone may think this is a case of ‘dumbing down’; surely it’s what’s on stage that is important? Criticise someone’s views on a limited ‘Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet, Nutcracker’ repertoire as dumbing down, if desired, but surely not what they wear? 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don’t live in London, so when I’m heading to the city I’m normally there for the day. Whilst I would love to dress up, not wearing comfortable clothes for walking round all day before the performance would be completely impractical.

 

I always try to wear a skirt and nice top when I can but sometimes I am rushing around from somewhere else and end up wearing jeans and carrying a smallish backpack. I also tend to stand so wearing comfy shoes (even trainers) is sometimes necessary...

 

I understand the desire to make an evening special and when I’m staying up I do try to dress up but to exclude an entire group of people who aren’t lucky enough to live close by to the theatre or have the free time to leisurely change before the show seems a little unfair.

 

I’d much rather be next to a clean and quiet person in jeans than a noisy, rude person in a dress! 

 

Attending the theatre and ballet is a special experience but that isn’t only defined by how you dress, but also your attitude to the performance.

  • Like 13
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It’s my first visit to the ROH next Thursday and I have to admit I did pay a lot of attention to the footage of the audience and what they are wearing in my numerous RB blu rays so as not to look like a tit :lol: 

 

I’m not sure what’s worse, finding yourself wearing your best jeans and a nice shirt in the Stalls of the ROH or, as I spotted the other day, wearing a dinner jacket and bow tie to a Ballet of Siberia performance in Swindon when everyone else is in casualwear

Edited by Rob S
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

Maybe it's my age talking, but I don't understand why what people wear to the ROH or any other venue should be of any concern to others, provided their clothes are clean.  People should be comfortable in themselves and, to me, that's what important.

I don't think I said it was of 'concern,' nor did I anywhere imply that apparel is more important than content.  I certainly didn't talk about excluding people!  Actually, there's a kind of reverse snobbery going on here - as if you are somehow not a regular visitor if you bother to wash your hair and wear a nice dress.  I see a lot of ladies at ROH who have obviously made a real effort and it is clear that they feel out of place when they see that the dress code is now jeans and backpack.

 

My point is that I love the aesthetics in life and it gives me pleasure to see people looking nice.  I'm not going to apologise for caring about my surroundings and that includes people.  It is lovely when I spot wonderfully well turned out visitors who are making a real occasion of their visit as I try to, even if I am a regular visitor.  It gives me pleasure to make the effort; as you get older there's nothing tedious about trying to look the best you can, even if it is an uphill struggle.  Some things are special.

 

As for being comfortable,  I'm hardly advocating ballgowns!  Its just, IMHO, a matter of respect for your surroundings and fellow guests.  One can slob around in tracksuit bottoms any time.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since its first re-build the opera house has become a far less comfortable place to visit, who would dress up if they are expected to sit on a bench?  Back in the 60's when I started going people were far more fashion conscious than today, but that was true everywhere and the Carnaby Street dandies vied with the women in that respect.  I used to see some fabulous clothes at Covent Garden once upon a time and occasionally I wore some myself (I still have a Bruce Oldfield dress that I can't part with) and I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the glamour.  I'm going to offend a lot of people by saying how much I absolutely loathe torn jeans and those vile thick plimsoll things so many wear, fashion is supposed to reflect the times we live in, dressing in rags suggests to me we are moving into a dystopian society.

 

I follow some favourite singers abroad occasionally and I adore Monte Carlo as a venue, jaw dropping audience, I was last there in November and spotted an emerald so large you'd think it should be in the crown jewels.   Elsewhere in Europe the dress code varies, but Vienna is very formal and in Zurich some performances are designated 'black tie', so I can understand newcomers feeling a bit anxious over what to wear.

 

Penelope Simpson, it's off to Glyndebourne and Garsington for you and you'll love it. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Its just, IMHO, a matter of respect for your surroundings and fellow guests.  

 

So you're saying my turning up at the ROH in t-shirt and shorts is disrespecting the ROH and the other people attending?  That's the funniest thing I've heard so far today. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ah - torn jeans as a fashion statement; I'm often thinking to myself, poor dabs, I should give 'em a couple of quid towards a whole pair - but then remember that each tear probably costs as much as my entire outfit, so snap out of it!!

I'm afraid i'm one of the daps (thick plimsoles) wearers as:   a) I have dodgy knees (and feet, to a lesser extent) and  b )  i'm standing for most shows  so appreciate the cushioning 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

I'm afraid i'm one of the daps (thick plimsoles) wearers as:   a) I have dodgy knees (and feet, to a lesser extent) and  b )  i'm standing for most shows  so appreciate the cushioning 

 

Best ever standing shoes for me were 70's platforms, gave a terrific view.

  • Like 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been to the Sydney Opera House wearing a suit and tie. I've also been wearing shorts, a tee shirt and thongs (what you Pommies call flip flops). If people where offended by that, tough! As Tony Hancock said "Clobber does not maketh the man".

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

I don't think I said it was of 'concern,' nor did I anywhere imply that apparel is more important than content.  I certainly didn't talk about excluding people!  Actually, there's a kind of reverse snobbery going on here - as if you are somehow not a regular visitor if you bother to wash your hair and wear a nice dress.  I see a lot of ladies at ROH who have obviously made a real effort and it is clear that they feel out of place when they see that the dress code is now jeans and backpack.

 

My point is that I love the aesthetics in life and it gives me pleasure to see people looking nice.  I'm not going to apologise for caring about my surroundings and that includes people.  It is lovely when I spot wonderfully well turned out visitors who are making a real occasion of their visit as I try to, even if I am a regular visitor.  It gives me pleasure to make the effort; as you get older there's nothing tedious about trying to look the best you can, even if it is an uphill struggle.  Some things are special.

 

As for being comfortable,  I'm hardly advocating ballgowns!  Its just, IMHO, a matter of respect for your surroundings and fellow guests.  One can slob around in tracksuit bottoms any time.

 

I think that to say 'the dress code is now jeans and backpack' is a big exaggeration. The point is that there is no dress code now; as the ROH website says, people can feel free to dress up or down as they wish. Which is as it should be.

 

But I'm also glad that some people do choose to make the effort! So good for you, penelopesimpson. I agree that it's nice to see people who are nicely dressed - it's just not a requirement.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not quite the ROH but during an evening perfomance in the West End last year I had the misfortune to sit behind a couple who were constantly stroking each others shoulders and nuzzling each others necks. To start with, I just put up with it thinking they'd soon stop but when one of them put her head on her partner's shoulder and the other inclined her head towards her partner, there didn't seem to be any sign that either had the ability or inclination to sit upright in their designated seats. I was faced with not being able to see anything apart from far left or right or inconveniencing the people behind me by constantly moving my head to see the centre of the stage. I had a polite word and asked if they could sit upright which after a bit of muttering they did. Can't understand how people can be so selfish and self absorbed that they are completely unaware of how their behaviour impacts those around them. Anyway, rant over!

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I was a young teenager, and living just out of London a visit to the big city to see a show,generally a musical,was a big treat during the school holidays. I used to go with a friend,and our apparel for the visit would be the subject of conversation for weeks.My very sensible mother stopped all this by saying ' who do you think is going to look at you?'. So now, as long as I'm comfortable and look reasonably tidy I'm happy. And certainly for long productions-Wagner, Trilogies at the RSC, two performances in a day, comfort is definitely the name of the game. And on a personal note, I think all of those who love ballet and stand through countless performances are amazing and I wouldn't care if they came wearing their pyjamas!!

 

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...