Any theatre fan can attest to how annoying it is when you’re trying to enjoy yourself at a show, and the people around them decide they have other ideas. Talking, singing along, going on their phones.
Audience members spend hard earned money, sometimes a lot of money, and too often aren’t able to give their full attention to the show because those around them don’t want to give theirs to it either.
In the theatre community this is known as having “bad theatre etiquette”. And it appears that as theatre becomes more popular, and audiences get bigger, the issue of bad theatre etiquette is increasing at the same time.
Should theatres be doing more to clamp down on this problem, or does everyone need to relax and let people get on with it? Well, it depends who you ask.
Theatre is supposed to take an audience out of themselves and into a story. Audiences are supposed to be immersed and lost in what is going on on the stage. But it becomes increasingly difficult to be immersed when every five minutes people decide to have a chat or take out their phone to check the time or send a quick text.
How are audience members supposed to hear what’s going on when all around them people are rustling, moving around and singing along?
Is it really too much to ask for people to sit still, and quiet, for just a couple of hours?
Not only is it distracting for fellow audience members, bad theatre etiquette is also highly likely to have an effect on the actors on stage. After all, their job is to tell a story and entertain an audience, something that can quite easily be hindered by someone in eye or earshot behaving disrespectfully.
Audience members may be able to ignore it with some effort, but when it comes to actors, every ounce of effort they put in to ignoring what is going on in the audience is likely to translate to one less ounce of effort they are able to put into their performance.
So, while the audience may not see a difference, an actor knows their full potential is not being reached and it is often simply because of one or two members of an audience forgetting their manners.
Jenna Boyd, who is currently playing the role of “Beulah and Others” in Come From Away describes bad behaviour in the audience as being “like a fly buzzing around your head. It is highly distracting, and it rips you from where you are in the story back to a stage in a theatre.”
She also states “If you cannot go 1hr 40mins without your phone you should seek help for addiction. Think about the other people around you and remember that you aren’t at home watching TV. We can hear you and see you, we want to give you the best experience possible and the best way to do this is to let us do our job.”
Her co-star Emma Salvo pointed out how “you can often tell whether you’ve got them [the audience] on side or not. It makes you strive more to engage with them”.
Emma, who plays the role of “Janice and Others” in the show, also added that bad behaviour from audience members can be hard to ignore.
“On some occasions it’s difficult not to get frustrated so of course that can have an impact on your show”.
Despite this, she believes that situations shouldn’t always be judged head on.
“It’s easy to assume that a commotion is down to ‘bad behaviour’, but sometimes there are so many other possibilities you can’t be aware of whilst on stage. I’ve worked in a theatre where a lady was having a heart attack during the show!”
Though she doesn’t believe she’s had any particularly terrible experiences with audience members throughout her career, Emma mentions a previous show she worked on, where the cast were given opportunities to ‘ad-lib’ and interact with audiences.
“Understandably certain audiences took it as a chance to talk back, most were fantastic. Some heckles would be interesting. Some awkward. But you have to carry on and hope you can think of a comeback, fast!”
“At the end of the day, [when things go wrong] you just have to trust in your fellow colleagues [stage management, front of house, etc] and know that they can help in any situation that might crop up.”
“Having said that, I wish people could get out of the habit of ‘just checking their phone’. I would be intrigued to know if they are aware of the distraction to other audience members around them or even the performers on stage.”
Editor and lead critic of “The Play’s the Thing UK”, Laura Kressly, believes that ‘theatre etiquette’ in the 21st Century is now simply being used as a way of excluding those not “in power” including those with disabilities, accessibility needs, or special circumstances.
For example; someone with behavioural difficulties such as ASD, Tourettes, or other conditions may make noise during a show involuntarily, or people who may have bladder or bowel issues may have no choice but to get up mid-show to use the bathroom.
“We can never know what other people are going through and there may be a possibility that their actions have an important reason behind them.”
This could mean that more reinforcement of ‘rules’ within a theatre could mean that people may be forced to miss out on theatre.
Though the issue of ‘theatre etiquette’ may not be as black and white as it seems, as there are always exceptions to rules and regulations. It’s clear that the general opinion of theatregoers is that theatre seems to be becoming more rowdy and unruly as audiences become bigger and theatre becomes more popular.
Though theatres would definitely benefit from increasing the number of “relaxed performances”, as well as other more accommodating performances available to audiences in order to alleviate stress and worry. Many believe that theatres should begin to clamp down harder on audience members who disrupt performances due to an obvious lack of manners, as opposed to a genuine reason, in order to make the experience of seeing a show nicer for all involved.
Chloe Rose
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