My least favourite thing about going to the theatre is having to share the experience with lots of other people!! Yes, I am talking about the audience! Some can be great and really make a performance and some can ruin it! I would like to share with you a few examples of this and in return would love to hear some of yours.
Firstly, a great audience! When I have been lucky enough to see RENT (seamless link to the previous post!), the audience has always been great. They have cheered really loudly in all the appropriate places and stayed quiet when they are supposed to. You could tell that a lot of people were avid fans of the show, but they knew to treat the performance with respect.
On the other hand, when I recently went to see Kerry Ellis Sings The Great British Songbook, the audience was not so great. And by audience I really mean 2 (seemingly drunk) men! They kept shouting "you're Wicked" at Kerry at every possible moment. Whilst this was really funny the first time and mildly amusing the second, by the fourth time it really had worn thin. This was especially annoying as I have since found out that this is the night they recorded the concert for a possible release. Here's hoping modern technology can remove all traces of them! There was also the annoyance of fans screaming throughout songs. A high note, a key change, no aspect of the show was safe. Now don't get me wrong, I am all for encouraging performers, but there is a time and a place!
Whilst at Wicked recently, I was disturbed to find that my seat was surrounded by small American children. Although they did surprise me with how well they behaved, they hadn't quite mastered their theatre voices and, in the Cornfield scene, one boy two seats from me turned to his friend and blurted "this is the bit from the movie" so loudly that it actually made me jump. Bless!
My best (and worst) moment has to be watching West Side Story at the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield with my sister. During the En'tract, the old lady behind us thought that it would be a really great idea to HUM ALONG TO THE MUSIC. Who does that?! Needless to say I was not impressed, but in my usual British way didn't say anything about it but instead moaned about it afterwards to anyone that would listen!
So, what really grates you when you are at the theatre?
Why couldn't you have stayed calm for once, instead of flying off the handle?!
Flis xx
What really grates - aside from having to freeze to death in order to have a smoke during the interval...is wannabe critics offering their "views" in voices loud enough for everyone to hear during intervals etc. - I generally want to tell them to shut it but never do (since the amusement factor is there too, of course).
ReplyDeleteBut what about sweet wrappers? Theatres only seem to sell very noisy sweet wrappers, that only ever get unwrapped during the quietest most touching moments. A classic at the Lyceum WSS was DURING the pause on the last note (the xylophone bit) of Act I...I mean, another 10 seconds and nobody would have noticed or cared.