Have you ever been so bored in a cinema or theatre you’ve walked out?
I’ve certainly seen some ‘critically-acclaimed’ films at the multiplex and after 30 minutes decided that some film critics don’t know their art from their elbow and discreetly left the cinema.
As for bad stage productions, I’ve seen plenty, but always waited until the interval before leaving.
Such ‘Theatre Etiquette’ appears to be going out of fashion.
Recently, while performing the dramatic final scene in the play “Inter Alia” at London’s Wyndham’s Theatre, actress Rosamund Pike was distracted by the sight of an audience member texting.
Rather than stop the show and break the tension, she carried on.
But, after the play had ended and she’d taken her final bow, she returned to the stage and gave a speech about the bond of trust between the actors and the audience that makes a play work.
Rosamund referred to the person who’d knowingly broken that bond, but refrained from singling him out and just pointed in his general direction, saying “You know who you are”.
For this she received a massive round of applause.
If you thought that audience member’s behavior was atrocious, consider what happened when Andrew Scott was delivering the “To be . . . or not to be” speech in a London production of Hamlet’ not too long ago.
A man in the audience took out a laptop and calmly started e-mailing, disrespecting the actor on stage and treating his fellow audience members with contempt.
On that occasion the e-mailer received both barrels from the actor.
With the phenomenal price of West End theatre tickets these days, I wonder if this ‘I don’t care if I’m spotted texting or e-mailing’ attitude, that such ignorant people adopt, is some sort of supercilious superiority syndrome?
They’re saying, “I’m so rich, the fact I splashed out £300 on a ticket means nothing to me, so if I want to text or e-mail during the performance I shall!”
When I’m King, I’ll issue a decree that photographs of these idiots are displayed outside every theatre in the land so they’re refused entry . . . for life!