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Post by dramallama on May 27, 2018 23:09:00 GMT
She was super pissed then she started kicking the back of my chair throughout the rest of the show. I just don't understand why people act that way. If I was told to be quiet, I'd be so embarrassed about my bad behaviour, I'd not dare to even move. Working as an usher, I'm basically paid to shush people and the amount of insults I've had to listen to simply because I've asked customers not to ruin the fun for everybody else...
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Post by stagebyte on May 27, 2018 23:12:57 GMT
I suggest everyone gets the coughing, sneezing, unwrapping the family picnic out of the way during the overture - the same time as everyone is talking at the tops of their voices. No one will hear you then ... Or everyone could just shut up and let us all hear the overture like we're supposed to be able to! ^^^^^ Said with tongue firmly in cheek. Talking over the overture is my pet peeve. Overture starts - volume of conversation goes UP! For Me this is the start of the show and should be respected as such. Similarly audiences leaving during the playoff at the end and no one even applauding the orchestra/band. Always make a point of clapping at the very end. Genuine question - has the band playing at the conclusion of a musical always been while the audience leave or was there ever a time when people remained seated til the last note? I would love the opportunity to remain seated and savour last note but live in fear of being trampled in the stampede.
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Post by david on May 27, 2018 23:36:21 GMT
Or everyone could just shut up and let us all hear the overture like we're supposed to be able to! ^^^^^ Said with tongue firmly in cheek. Talking over the overture is my pet peeve. Overture starts - volume of conversation goes UP! For Me this is the start of the show and should be respected as such. Similarly audiences leaving during the playoff at the end and no one even applauding the orchestra/band. Always make a point of clapping at the very end. Genuine question - has the band playing at the conclusion of a musical always been while the audience leave or was there ever a time when people remained seated til the last note? I would love the opportunity to remain seated and savour last note but live in fear of being trampled in the stampede. Good point about the overture. I don’t understand why people feel the need to keep talking. Once the house lights are dimmed and the music starts this signals the start of the show. I want to hear the overture not people’s conversations. i think the situation of the music playoff at the end is a difficult one. Personally I stay to listen to the music. Sometimes I stay in my seat, other times I will get the edge of the auditorium and listen from there. Some people I would imagine would need to get transport home and therefore not bother at the end. Though I feel giving the band an applause at the end is an appreciative gesture from me for their hard work during the show.
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2018 1:07:50 GMT
I turned round and the woman behind me had decided she should take off her shoes and place one bare foot on the back of my chair and the other on the back of my mums chair, the stabbing device was her very pointy big toe nail . I glanced up at her and she was sitting there in a short sundress with her legs wide open so we could see her knickers, This must be near the top of the charts for bad behaviour. REPULSIVE. If she'd have been eating a picnic as well, it would have given a whole new meaning to seeing what she had for lunch.
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Post by timothyd on May 28, 2018 7:20:41 GMT
There are a few things I've noticed in the differences between audiences in the London and in my country (Holland).
- They sell food and drinks at the bar and in the auditorium in the UK. It's like a cinema. People are eating and drinking everywhere. Where in Holland it's not allowed to take your drinks or food in the auditorium. They don't sell food either. You have a drink before/after or in the interval, but you don't take it with you into the auditorium. - I hadn't heard people shush other people until I went to a theatre in the London. Doesn't really happen here. Here, at musicals with well known songs (Lion King, On Your Feet, etc), it's not really a crime to hum or sing quietly. I never do so, but it's definitely not weird here. I rather have people humming/singing then eating or drinking tbh. I even heard people shush other people because they coughed. That literally made no sense to me. - I've never seen people go to the toilets during a show in Holland either. - People booing the villains during applause in London. I do like that though.
On topic: I really dislike it when people, who've been to the same show multiple times, talk about and spoil major plot points before the show even started. It's not that difficult to be a bit more aware of the people around you who might never have seen the show.
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on May 28, 2018 8:06:32 GMT
Went to see "2001: A Space Odyssey" yesterday - next to me was a guy with his 10 year old son. While the trailers were playing, he said to the son "OK. We've got time to go to the loo now if you want to. Turn your phone off - don't want it buzzing or lighting up. And if you have any questions, save them to the end".
Parent of the year award I think!
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Post by Mr Snow on May 28, 2018 11:12:34 GMT
^^^^^ Said with tongue firmly in cheek. Talking over the overture is my pet peeve. Overture starts - volume of conversation goes UP! For Me this is the start of the show and should be respected as such. Similarly audiences leaving during the playoff at the end and no one even applauding the orchestra/band. Always make a point of clapping at the very end. Genuine question - has the band playing at the conclusion of a musical always been while the audience leave or was there ever a time when people remained seated til the last note? I would love the opportunity to remain seated and savour last note but live in fear of being trampled in the stampede. Good point about the overture. I don’t understand why people feel the need to keep talking. Once the house lights are dimmed and the music starts this signals the start of the show. I want to hear the overture not people’s conversations. i think the situation of the music playoff at the end is a difficult one. Personally I stay to listen to the music. Sometimes I stay in my seat, other times I will get the edge of the auditorium and listen from there. Some people I would imagine would need to get transport home and therefore not bother at the end. Though I feel giving the band an applause at the end is an appreciative gesture from me for their hard work during the show. I want to agree but...It used to be the lights were only half dimmed for the overture. It was a time to allow the audience to settle, to allow forhte "she loves the theatre, but always comes late" brigade.
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Post by bellboard27 on May 28, 2018 11:38:24 GMT
On coughing, there is definitely some mind over matter going on. The change in atmosphere in a theatre can trigger some coughing. I realised that if this happened to me, my worry about coughing only made it worse. So, if this happens I try to ignore it completely and this does help it go away.
I was once at a spa with the other half and having a massage. The person doing the massage started coughing. After a short time she apologise profusely. I said to her that she was making it worse by worrying about it and told her to forget about it and it would be OK. She did and didn't cough again.
Of course, this is no use for some coughing, but it can help sometimes.
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Post by bellboard27 on May 28, 2018 11:42:57 GMT
Just got home from watching Karen and Kevin Clifton from Strictly Come Dancing's tour at Woking theatre (brilliant show - would definitely recommend if it comes near you) However during the show I lent back in my seat and got stabbed in the shoulder by a small pointy object, I turned round and the woman behind me had decided she should take off her shoes and place one bare foot on the back of my chair and the other on the back of my mums chair, the stabbing device was her very pointy big toe nail . I glanced up at her and she was sitting there in a short sundress with her legs wide open so we could see her knickers, I gave her a look but still her trotters remained on our chairs. I don't like feet, I know most people have them but please keep them away from me and definitely do not place them on my chair. At Red at Wyndham's on Saturday, we were in the front row of the upper circle. The young woman behind us continually put her foot (not bare!) on the back of our seats. I variously brushed it off, knocked it off, etc., but it would continually find its way back. Serious lack of manners!
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Post by timothyd on May 28, 2018 11:46:11 GMT
On coughing, there is definitely some mind over matter going on. The change in atmosphere in a theatre can trigger some coughing. I realised that if this happened to me, my worry about coughing only made it worse. So, if this happens I try to ignore it completely and this does help it go away. I was once at a spa with the other half and having a massage. The person doing the massage started coughing. After a short time she apologise profusely. I said to her that she was making it worse by worrying about it and told her to forget about it and it would be OK. She did and didn't cough again. Of course, this is no use for some coughing, but it can help sometimes. It's easier to just cough. Then the cough is gone and you don't have to worry or think about it anymore.
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Post by ailsmal on May 28, 2018 14:00:44 GMT
There are a few things I've noticed in the differences between audiences in the London and in my country (Holland). - They sell food and drinks at the bar and in the auditorium in the UK. It's like a cinema. People are eating and drinking everywhere. Where in Holland it's not allowed to take your drinks or food in the auditorium. They don't sell food either. You have a drink before/after or in the interval, but you don't take it with you into the auditorium. - I hadn't heard people shush other people until I went to a theatre in the London. Doesn't really happen here. Here, at musicals with well known songs (Lion King, On Your Feet, etc), it's not really a crime to hum or sing quietly. I never do so, but it's definitely not weird here. I rather have people humming/singing then eating or drinking tbh. I even heard people shush other people because they coughed. That literally made no sense to me. - I've never seen people go to the toilets during a show in Holland either. - People booing the villains during applause in London. I do like that though. On topic: I really dislike it when people, who've been to the same show multiple times, talk about and spoil major plot points before the show even started. It's not that difficult to be a bit more aware of the people around you who might never have seen the show. I had someone completely ruin Matthew Bourne's 'The Red Shoes' for me. A mother brought her kid (who couldn't have been more than 7) to it. Prior to curtain up she explained the entire show to the kid, complete with detailed descriptions of the sets, costumes etc (she'd seen it the night before with a friend). I had deliberately avoided reviews and clips of the show so as not to know what was coming. If a kid needs a show explained to them in that much detail, then it's probably not the show for them, but I guess that's another debate. I went to see the Scottish Ballet dance 'Highland Fling' in March and I can't imagine how the parents of the ridiculously children that they'd taken with them explained some of that.
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Post by rockinrobin on May 28, 2018 18:35:07 GMT
On coughing, there is definitely some mind over matter going on. The change in atmosphere in a theatre can trigger some coughing. I realised that if this happened to me, my worry about coughing only made it worse. So, if this happens I try to ignore it completely and this does help it go away. I was once at a spa with the other half and having a massage. The person doing the massage started coughing. After a short time she apologise profusely. I said to her that she was making it worse by worrying about it and told her to forget about it and it would be OK. She did and didn't cough again. Of course, this is no use for some coughing, but it can help sometimes. That is very true. That said, with my anxiety (wonderful condition, hugely recommended!) I always worry that I would be coughing - and of course, the more you think about it, the more likely it is to happen, and then you try not to cough, because you don't want to be this "bad behaviour at a show" person so eventually you almost choke yourself to death... And that's why I always have something to drink with me.
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Post by timothyd on May 28, 2018 19:46:06 GMT
But why worry about coughing? When you have to cough you have to cough. Coughing isn't bad behavior imo. You can't do anything about it and I can't believe a cough can distract someone from a show unless you're bored by it.
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Post by dontdreamit on May 28, 2018 21:23:46 GMT
At A Little Princess tonight, we had a row of young teenagers behind us. They shouted: “Go Jasmine!” at the top of their voices every time the actress playing Sara Crewe finished a song, and then talked through quite a few of the songs in the first half which meant I wasn’t really able to hear the performance properly.
At the interval, I quite pointedly told them that their talking meant that I missed a lot of the performance (my tinnitus is q bad at the moment, meaning that I generally hear whatever is closest rather than what I want to be hearing).
During the interval in the bar area, a woman came up to us, explained that she was the mother of one of the boys I’d spoken to and that they were just all excited because they hadn’t seen each other for a while and had been in the same team for 9 months in the West End. I repeated what I said to the teenagers- we paid for the show and their talking meant our enjoyment was spoilt. She continued to try and explain away but tohe honest it sounded like lots of excuses.
Second half- less talking, same amount of calling out her name, and lots of crunching of plastic cups. We were seriously not impressed but I did manage to hear the second half a lot better than the first.
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2018 6:41:52 GMT
But why worry about coughing? When you have to cough you have to cough. Coughing isn't bad behavior imo. You can't do anything about it and I can't believe a cough can distract someone from a show unless you're bored by it. One polite ocassional cough maybe can't. Half the audience hacking away does ruin the atmosphere a bit - especially in those tingly hear a pin drop moments, when someone just rips through it with some highly unpleasant noise. I've been in situations where I've missed a lot of dialogue because someone around me coughs a lot and drowns it out. A silent auditorium really is what some plays/scenes need to be most effective. So agree it's human but it's also polite to try to stifle it as much as possible and if you're ill try to find a way around it, whether that's not attending or just dosing up with plenty of lozenges and water.
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2018 7:08:30 GMT
Does anyone else’s inner voice start quivering when they see the people next them put their phone away before a show/end of the interval - without switching it off? “Please don’t ring, pleeeease don’t ring...” 😬
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2018 8:18:11 GMT
I never turn my phone off in the theatre, because it has an unnerving habit of audibly turning itself back on in my bag if I shift in my seat or bump it at all. Airplane mode all the way for me! Nothing getting through so no sounds, no lights, no vibrations, and all without having to actually turn the phone off.
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2018 8:54:24 GMT
...and had been in the same team for 9 months in the West End... Sorry, Team as in performance team? Then they should know better than to be talking and disturbing other audience members. Lack of basic respect there.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 29, 2018 12:15:57 GMT
I never turn my phone off in the theatre, because it has an unnerving habit of audibly turning itself back on in my bag if I shift in my seat or bump it at all. Airplane mode all the way for me! Nothing getting through so no sounds, no lights, no vibrations, and all without having to actually turn the phone off. On iPhones if you have a reminder set with an audible alert it will still happen in flight mode. As I know to my cost!
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Post by stuartww on May 29, 2018 12:29:53 GMT
Just got home from watching Karen and Kevin Clifton from Strictly Come Dancing's tour at Woking theatre (brilliant show - would definitely recommend if it comes near you) However during the show I lent back in my seat and got stabbed in the shoulder by a small pointy object, I turned round and the woman behind me had decided she should take off her shoes and place one bare foot on the back of my chair and the other on the back of my mums chair, the stabbing device was her very pointy big toe nail . I glanced up at her and she was sitting there in a short sundress with her legs wide open so we could see her knickers, I gave her a look but still her trotters remained on our chairs. I don't like feet, I know most people have them but please keep them away from me and definitely do not place them on my chair. I think i have mentioned this before - something similar happened to me at a performance of Wicked. I got so fed up with the toe in my back that grabbed it. The foot shot back but the slip on shoe stayed in my hand. It stayed with me, by my feet until the end of the show....at which point we exited to the left and somehow it got kicked along the aisle.....
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Post by 49thand8th on May 29, 2018 14:11:42 GMT
She was super pissed then she started kicking the back of my chair throughout the rest of the show. I just don't understand why people act that way. If I was told to be quiet, I'd be so embarrassed about my bad behaviour, I'd not dare to even move. Working as an usher, I'm basically paid to shush people and the amount of insults I've had to listen to simply because I've asked customers not to ruin the fun for everybody else... I was at a community theatre production of Rent and shushed a woman behind me, who couldn't BELIEVE someone would do that, then at intermission threatened TO ME that she would make noise for the rest of the show. Her theatre companions were all embarrassed. I told her I wasn't sure what argument she would have if the staff came over to ask why she kept talking. I had overheard her talking about wanting to leave early to get dinner (this whole group was in their 50s and 60s and clearly had no idea what they had signed up for), but the others wanted to stay and I could hear that one legitimately was enjoying the show. When they got up during curtain call, I handed a $20 bill to the guy who had enjoyed it and said loudly, "GO HAVE A NICE DINNER!" (He didn't take it.)
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2018 14:36:23 GMT
Only if you're enjoying the show more than the rest of the group you're with.
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Post by 49thand8th on May 29, 2018 14:41:10 GMT
When they got up during curtain call, I handed a $20 bill to the guy who had enjoyed it and said loudly, "GO HAVE A NICE DINNER!" (He didn't take it.) Wait, wait. If I sit next too you and make a noise about wanting food, you hand me $20 after the show so I can go get some? This brings a whole new meaning to "meal and show ticket deal." Please let me know when you will next be in London and your exact seat numbers... LOL. I handed the $20 to the one guy who had been quiet and enjoying the show and was embarrassed by his friend/relative who was being awful. Oh, and in "Contact," when Collins said, "It's over," she said, "I wish!"
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Post by timothyd on May 29, 2018 17:55:31 GMT
A reviewer of a blog once stood up during a play to make a video with his tablet. When the usher told him to stop he got angry.
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Post by dramallama on May 29, 2018 18:25:01 GMT
I once asked a customer to stop talking during the quiet bits in a play - she called me a 'f*cking c*nt'... She was pretty drunk, still not acceptable behaviour in any way.
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Post by timothyd on May 29, 2018 18:53:35 GMT
And I shouldnt forget the guy at the Dutch Lion King a few years ago a few rows in front of us who was dressed as a giraffe.
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Post by lynette on May 29, 2018 18:57:44 GMT
Feet on your shoulder! OMG. We are such a polite nation. Too polite maybe? What would I have done? Dunno.
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Post by 49thand8th on May 29, 2018 19:06:52 GMT
And I shouldnt forget the guy at the Dutch Lion King a few years ago a few rows in front of us who was dressed as a giraffe. WHAT
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Post by timothyd on May 29, 2018 19:13:12 GMT
Yeah didnt get that either. He had to remove the neck and face eventually.
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Post by david on May 29, 2018 19:16:01 GMT
And I shouldnt forget the guy at the Dutch Lion King a few years ago a few rows in front of us who was dressed as a giraffe. I don’t know whether to be shocked or applaud the guy for having the guts to carry it off! What must the cast of thought when they saw this?
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