Audience Behaviour - Thread 2

[art_enthusiast]

4 hours ago, capybara said:

 

- late arrivals pushing past - tick

- popcorn munching and spilling - tick

- people smelling strongly of drink - tick

- children kicking the back of seats - tick

- a lot of talking during the performance - tick (the couple next to me discussed dancers’ tits and bits 😵 )

Yikes, that sounds awful for you - really disrespectful to the dancers as well!

[Dawnstar]

4 hours ago, capybara said:

And the RAH really must do something about its toilet facilities. The insufficiency for women results in whole intervals being spent queueing, physical as well as verbal confrontations, female incursions into the gents’ * and late returns into the auditorium.

 

After queuing for so long beforehand that I was getting twitchy about being late (though I'm sure the "performance starts in x minutes" warnings weren't actually accurate), in the two intervals after seeing how long the queues were for the stalls loos I went up a couple of levels & found some loos with no queues. I seem to recall I've done the same in the past too.

[alison]

5 hours ago, capybara said:

- late arrivals pushing past - tick

- popcorn munching and spilling - tick

- a lot of talking during the performance - tick (the couple next to me discussed dancers’ tits and bits 😵 )

 

Check all of the above.  Sitting in the back row of the Rausing Circle did mean I was saved from anyone kicking the back of my seat, but OTOH we did have an ongoing hammering noise.  Not sure what that was about.

 

I not infrequently go past the queues for the ladies' loos and tell people to go up or down a flight of stairs, depending on location.  The queues are always shorter on the Tiers simply because of the relative lack of seats in the boxes.  But many people just carry on queuing regardless.

[Emeralds]

3 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

After queuing for so long beforehand that I was getting twitchy about being late (though I'm sure the "performance starts in x minutes" warnings weren't actually accurate), in the two intervals after seeing how long the queues were for the stalls loos I went up a couple of levels & found some loos with no queues. I seem to recall I've done the same in the past too.

The RAH queues are always very long at the first interval, but the first ones to clear are the Grand Tier and Second Tier ones, but if you can wait till the second interval or go before the show, the GT and ST ones tend to have minimal queues during those times. 

[Emeralds]

3 hours ago, alison said:

 

Check all of the above.  Sitting in the back row of the Rausing Circle did mean I was saved from anyone kicking the back of my seat, but OTOH we did have an ongoing hammering noise.  Not sure what that was about.

 

I not infrequently go past the queues for the ladies' loos and tell people to go up or down a flight of stairs, depending on location.  The queues are always shorter on the Tiers simply because of the relative lack of seats in the boxes.  But many people just carry on queuing regardless.

I saw scaffolding on the roof bit but wouldn’t have thought they would be working at night or during a performance! Oh dear. 

[Sophoife]

I was in Melbourne for AusBallet's Identity programme anyway so seized the opportunity of seeing the delayed cinemacast of Royal Ballet's Sleeping Beauty on Sunday afternoon.

 

Thanks so much to the two groups of people who felt it appropriate to chat throughout. When reminded they were being disrespectful, not to mention rude, one group apologised and shut up, the other's reaction was astonishment "but we're in a cinema!" Yes honey and the rest of the audience doesn't want or need to hear you!

 

This group (older women) continued to chat throughout, and I was particularly unimpressed by their comments on Joseph Sissens' locs and the skin-toned tights and shoes elsewhere.

 

Friday night in the balcony at the live ballet a woman behind me felt it appropriate to place her booted feet between the two seats in front of her, on the arm rest where my left arm already was. Shocked at being kicked (which was what it felt like) I grabbed her toes and pushed back. Hard. At interval she was all "what's your problem?" 😳 Her companion apologised and said if she'd realised at the time what the other woman was doing she'd have stopped her.

 

Edited June 26, 2023 by Sophoife
Deleted some and added some.

[capybara]

I should have made it clear that the words used with reference to areas of ENB dancers’ anatomy were those of my audience neighbours, not mine. They, and the detailed descriptions used (which I did not share in print), are not in my vocabulary 😉 !

[bridiem]

47 minutes ago, capybara said:

I should have made it clear that the words used with reference to areas of ENB dancers’ anatomy were those of my audience neighbours, not mine. They, and the detailed descriptions used (which I did not share in print), are not in my vocabulary 😉 !

 

I don't think anyone would have had any doubt about this, capybara! 😊

[Benjamin]

What horrible stories! What I wanted to say is that ENB at the RAH has a more general, bigger audience (just like the nutcracker) and there people that don’t go to performances that often don’t know the protocols. I’m not trying to justify them just point that out :). I think everyone knows this but I didn’t have any stories so this is it.

[capybara]

A new one for me from the RBS show yesterday afternoon…… hair flicking!

 

It wasn’t the woman’s fault that her head completely blocked my view (that was because the seats are neither raked nor staggered in the middle of the Stalls) but having her hair in my face every few minutes was a step too far.

 

[Jan McNulty]

18 minutes ago, capybara said:

A new one for me from the RBS show yesterday afternoon…… hair flicking!

 

It wasn’t the woman’s fault that her head completely blocked my view (that was because the seats are neither raked nor staggered in the middle of the Stalls) but having her hair in my face every few minutes was a step too far.

 

 

I've been subjected to hair flickers before now - it's most unpleasant.  You have my sympathies Capybara.

 

I also once had to ask the person in front of me to take their trilby off and then there was the occasion when I sat behind a young lady who had her hair in a 6" high behave (which I couldn't ask her to take off!).

[FionaM]

Row B in balcony … the woman in front of me to left kept leaning in towards her neighbours her right narrowing my view.  
 

I did wonder … how short does someone have to be to qualify for one of the ROH cushions?  I noticed a few adults around me using them.  I’m hoping I qualify 🤞

Edited July 17, 2023 by FionaE

[Tony Newcombe]

2 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

I've been subjected to hair flickers before now - it's most unpleasant.  You have my sympathies Capybara.

 

I also once had to ask the person in front of me to take their trilby off and then there was the occasion when I sat behind a young lady who had her hair in a 6" high behave (which I couldn't ask her to take off!).

Two nuns in orchestra stalls complete with wimple

[Jan McNulty]

1 minute ago, Tony Newcombe said:

Two nuns in orchestra stalls complete with wimple

 

WOW!!

[capybara]

32 minutes ago, FionaE said:

I did wonder … how short does someone have to be to qualify for one of the ROH cushions?  I noticed a few adults around me using them.  I’m hoping I qualify 🤞

 

I thought that the cushions were intended for children. If I had had one yesterday (and it was certainly needed), it would have made things worse for the people behind me.

 

[FionaM]

50 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

I thought that the cushions were intended for children. If I had had one yesterday (and it was certainly needed), it would have made things worse for the people behind me.

 

That was my worry too, making it worse for the rows behind me.  
 

Maybe the rake from rows B to C is better than that from A to B.  I think the cushions make only half a foot difference, so anyone around 5 foot or shorter should use them.  I will next time. 

[bangorballetboy]

1 hour ago, FionaE said:

Row B in balcony … the woman in front of me to left kept leaning in towards her neighbours her right narrowing my view.  
 

I did wonder … how short does someone have to be to qualify for one of the ROH cushions?  I noticed a few adults around me using them.  I’m hoping I qualify 🤞

 

I have used them when sitting in SC row C for rehearsals (I'm 5'4").

[Guest oncnp]

23 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

I have used them when sitting in SC row C for rehearsals (I'm 5'4").

Do you ask the usher? Also 5'4" here

Edited July 17, 2023 by oncnp

[Jan McNulty]

53 minutes ago, oncnp said:

Do you ask the usher? Also 5'4" here

 

I did ask an usher once, when my view was completely non-existent due a a tall man with a lot of hair in front of me.  She said "of course" and gave me one.  I asked the people behind if I was blocking them and they said not.

[Sim]

4 hours ago, Tony Newcombe said:

Two nuns in orchestra stalls complete with wimple

What performance were you all watching?!

[alison]

Hopefully not Dialogues des Carmelites  

[Tony Newcombe]

4 hours ago, Sim said:

What performance were you all watching?!

Manon. I thought that was very amusing at the time

[Sim]

11 minutes ago, Tony Newcombe said:

Manon. I thought that was very amusing at the time

[Dawnstar]

I was surprised enough to see two nuns at Phantom of the Opera about a decade ago but Manon is a whole other level!

[Ian Macmillan]

I believe it has been known for Nuns to attend to see a performance involving a dancer who had attended a school at which they taught. 

[Richard LH]

22 hours ago, capybara said:

If I had had one yesterday (and it was certainly needed), it would have made things worse for the people behind me.

 

Unless they all had them too...🤔

[Dawnstar]

I saw this tweet & thought of the discussions we had had about popcorn at the Coliseum & RAH earlier this season. Very depressing.

 

 

[Missfrankiecat]

On 17/07/2023 at 12:44, Tony Newcombe said:

Two nuns in orchestra stalls complete with wimple

I raise you a woman wearing a brimmed hat in front row of the SC on Sunday - fortunately the side view meant she did a lot less damage than she would have in the Stalls but who sits in a hat at the theatre?!

[LinMM]

Goodness I really didn’t think the RAH would sell popcorn at the Proms …I assumed they only reserved this for us lowly ballet audiences lol! 
I suppose though that if they allow food into the auditorium then it’s hard to argue against the selling of popcorn however obnoxious we may find it. 
We need a massive uprising against the general eating and drinking in all auditoriums everywhere. 
 

I suppose people who wear hats inside a theatre auditorium are secretly longing to be invited to a wedding! 

Edited August 8, 2023 by LinMM

[Emeralds]

On 08/08/2023 at 21:36, Dawnstar said:

I saw this tweet & thought of the discussions we had had about popcorn at the Coliseum & RAH earlier this season. Very depressing.

 

 

I was nearly going to go to that but the lack of trains on Monday put an end to that! Guess it saved me some stress. That’s really astounding. Where I sat for the Rhapsody/Belshazzar’s Feast Prom, people were good as gold. They didn’t even breathe loudly  - not even a single cough - during the music. Several took photos of pianist Yuja Wang but only during the bows and applause, and discreetly.

 

They should ban popcorn sales during the Proms. What next- allowing people to walk on to the stage during a play at the RSC?? Both intrude in the same way. 

 

Send the popcorn munchers to the guillotine [in this production] - swish! 😉

[Geoff]

For those who didn‘t see what happened at Grease in the West End this weekend:

https://news.sky.com/story/police-called-to-disturbance-at-grease-show-in-londons-west-end-as-four-theatregoers-escorted-out-12949343

 

[Linnzi5]

1 hour ago, Geoff said:

For those who didn‘t see what happened at Grease in the West End this weekend:

https://news.sky.com/story/police-called-to-disturbance-at-grease-show-in-londons-west-end-as-four-theatregoers-escorted-out-12949343

 

I read about this - disgraceful. I don't understand this sort of behaviour, but am pleased the people were removed from the theatre. 

[FionaM]

I’m guessing alcohol levels played a part in this.  
 

I was at a show recently where a lady approached the stage and was standing up against it as though to interact with the performers.  (No orchestra pit).  Fortunately she hadn’t noticed the stairs at the centre which the dancers were using as part of the show to enter and exit through the audience.  If she had, she’d have been up them before theatre staff could escort her away!