One of the times I saw Everybody's Talking About Jamie two girls were having a loud conversation in the middle of a scene happening and the guy behind leaned forward and said "should i ask them to pause the show until you finish your conversation" and it was magnificent. I wish i was ballsy enough to tell people to shut up like that.
The singing along one is really important - sometimes you can't hear the performers over some random guy singing over them. I enthusiastically mime along so I feel like I'm singing along haha - I remember one time at Beautiful, Danielle Steers found my twitter & tweeted me saying seeing me singing along helped her get through the show, so if people want to be enthusiastic & sing along, I'd recommend just mouthing the words :)
I know I can't sing and I get annoyed myself at the people who say the lines or actually sing along. If I'm watching a show (the only professional musical I've seen was the Les Mis tour last year at the Birmingham Hippodrome because if I see a show I go with my mum and she has to want to see it too and for us it's too expensive to go to London to watch shows) and I know the lyrics I will mouth them.
As someone who has sensitive smell, asking people to avoid wearing too much perfume/aftershave/deodorant, I am totally on board with this. Those smells in particular can trigger nausea and migraine. I've spent a theatre performance trying to breathe through my balled up jumper because of this. B.O. is also as sickening. Strong smells from others for prolonged periods and especially places where it's awkward to leave completely distract from enjoying a show. And have brought me to a point of debating missing the second half of a show, which is a miserable and expensive.
Yes, not just is it a trigger for allergen but like, I'm autistic and a strong smell on top of a crowded theatre and a loud show can cause a total sensory meltdown, it's not like we can move seats away from the person with the strong perfume!
Also some people are straight up allergic to perfume, so not drenching yourself in it when you’re going to sit next to someone for a prolonged period of time is just good manners I think.
Yes! I'm sensitive to perfume and have had to sit through shows uncomfortable because the woman three seats away, I assume, decided to take a bath in perfume.
On what you wear: remember you will be sitting for a while! And the house is usually cold because stage is so hot with the lights etc. Bring a jacket, and wear comfortable clothes because you'll be sitting for a while :) just my two cents!
And we call the applauding when the person comes out “entrance applause” and it can happen for an actor or a character. Longest one I ever heard was Daniel Radcliffe in how to succeed - felt like a rock concert.
Not at the theatre, but I was once sat behind a woman on a bus and she had so much perfume on that I could taste it as I breathed. A good rule of thumb is that the people beside you should be able to smell it, but not people 3 or 4 rows away.
I took my mum to see Hamilton in the West End soon after it opened and the girl behind us was singing along pretty loudly to the first couple of numbers. I turned around during the applause and told her to shut up because I paid a lot of money to hear the professionals sing, not her. The people either side of us thanked me for speaking up 😂
I was brought up with Les Miserables and my mum and nan took me when I was 7 to the Queen’s Theatre. I was so excited and my favourite song was “On my Own” so I waited patiently enjoying the show for it to come on. As soon as it reached the climax of the song (I love him but everyday I’m learning) someone in the seat behind me said very loudly “Randy, can you get me some water?”. 7 year old me was quite frustrated 😄
This video reminds me so much of an issue I had watching the both of you in Adams. My husband and I were sat in stalls and we were placed next to a man who was rather pungent. He was drinking beer, smelt bad and fell asleep on my shoulder. When he wasn’t snoring, he talked through the opening song! During the intermission, I had to ask to swap seats. I was mortified for complaining but luckily the theatre were very accommodating! The show wasn’t spoilt!
the one thing i find distracting on stage is when someone is on their phone so there's like a weird ghostly light on a face in the audience and you're like "oh ok thanks for that" the sleeping one brought back memories of my g12 music trip to new york (we used to travel to a different country once a year to perform and compete in festivals) and they had got us tickets to the new york philharmonic orchestra but it was the end of the trip and we were all exhausted and a whole other school group in the row behind us in the same boat, so there were about 100 teenage music nerds desperately trying to stay awake for this amazing performance. There was definitely snoring involved. Also I see the nutcracker ballet every christmas and every time someone has snuck in a whole mcdonalds meal
Cheering for Lin Manuel Miranda's first entrance after "What's your name, man?" in Hamilton is such a release of excitement and tension and love and enthusiasm and a chance for the audience to give some audible appreciation so they don't just cheer throughout the whole song and after every line.
For the shoes one, I often wear flats and will sometimes slip them off to give my feet a break, but if you don't have slip on/off shoes, just leave them on.
I never have the urge to sing along when watching a show I know really well. I think that's because I can sing it all the time in my own house but right now, I am watching an amazingly talented actor and singer perform it right in front of me. I guess I'm kind of in awe when watching a show live, enough to not want to sing along!
I went to watch the Six tour in Cardiff, front row, super excited, I had an 8 year old girl to my right that was dressed up in costume (that she made herself), spent the whole build up to the show telling me about her favourite parts of the show and showing me messages from the actresses on her phone, adorable, Fangirling done right. I had a 16-17 year old to me left that sang out loud to every song and said EVERY PUNCH line before they were said on stage. The friend I went with knew nothing of the show before hand and it really took away from the experience. As I said before, we were front row so I'm sure it didn't go unnoticed by the girls on stage. I shot her several looks but as there's no interval it didn't give us much of an opportunity to say anything. It's a huge pet peeve of mine 😭 On the flip side though, when we saw Les mis at the Gielgud, my mum and I were leaning forward and, rightfully so, they asked us lean back, the last thing I want is to negatively impact someone else's experience, especially when we didn't realise what we were doing, so I definitely agree with speaking up! That way, we can all enjoy the show as much as possible
I have never fallen asleep completely during a show, but I have definitely started to doze off at times. I highly recommend making sure you're well rested prior to seeing a show.
Oh, Lord, I *am* one of those people who once bought a day-of ticket in Leicester Square to Les Mis the day that I landed in London...to then promptly fall asleep in the front row. I was terribly embarrassed (and mad at myself that I missed parts of the show). Though waking up to lock eyes with a woman playing in the orchestra pit, who was controlling her giggles with a smirk shot in my direction, is honestly one of my favorite memories of that trip.
i always enjoy how a lot of the playhouses (i know the liverpool playhouse does) will give you a plastic cup once you've bought sweets from them and will bin the wrapper for you and make sure you pour them into the cup so that you can't rustle !!
the perfume thing i actually get why its on the list since you never know someone sitting close to you might be allergic or sensetive towards perfumes/smells(i know my mums throat closes up a bit whenever someone is wearing even the smallest of spritzes of perfume) :)
I've felt so bad ever since.. but I went to the toilet in the middle of Heathers at the haymarket.. I'd been at work all morning from 6am, I finished work got on the train to London then I had to eat and get a drink in the short time between arriving and the matinee starting. By the time it got to you're welcome I needed the toilet I couldn't wait any longer.. I had to run out haha
On the perfume/aftershave front, one time my mum and I went to the theatre and the guy in front of us was wearing so much aftershave it was overpowering and was making my mum cough so much she had to leave the auditorium- we swapped seats at the interval.
I’ve witnessed the clapping thing in the west end when I saw Hamilton. The room became electrified when he made his entrance and started clapping and cheering. It was amazing ❤️
The perfume thing we get told all the time in ensemble/rehearsa settings. The idea is you want to smell good but you dont want to be obnoxious about it
Good morning! Funny story about hats in the theater! So I was with my family at the recent production of Little Shop, and the guy in front of us had on a baseball cap with the brim pointing pretty much directly up, and all of us are quite short, so before the show started, we finally got up the courage to ask him to take his hat off. So he does, and his hair springs up to the same height as his hat! We found it unreasonably hilarious. I don't know why. It was great. Have a great day y'all!
I had a girl sat near me and my friend when I went to see phantom who kept singing along,was annoying! I think I've been at shows where people have been noisy with sweets etc, think it would be a good idea for all theatres to do tubs!
Very strong perfumes and scents give me a migraine ... i think they meant use deodorant and breath mints not use too much lol! I am a magnet for bad seat neighbours in the theatre, cinema and gigs LOL! Some people get rude and aggressive when you tell them about their behaviour and they could cause a major disruption for the whole audience x
As a disabled person the fidget rule is inevitable for me, it’s so painful to sit in those theatre seats I have to keep moving or my limbs and joints get stuck or they can dislocate, I have to be able to do slight movements to fix my joints.
the only time I have sung along mildly out loud was at Heathers at the Haymarket during the Me inside of Me, where as a life long horse lover who asked Santa for a pony every Christmas to no avail, I turned to my mother and 'sang' (barely audible) 'she's the Horse I never got for Christmas!' right at her. I got a kick out of that
Not surprised You didn’t catch the American reference. Miss manners is an American etiquette columnist! People write in and they ask her etiquette questions and she answers them!
My mum always always books the end of a row so she can sit on the end as she has hip problems so she can spread her leg a bit, but it would have worked out brilliantly as we were due to see Hello Dolly in August and I would have been 36 weeks pregnant! I would have been happy to go knowing I could sneak off for wees without getting in anyone's way! Obviously doesn't matter now but it would have worked!
A good theatre snack hack is ask for a plastic drinks cup (which they will usually have at the bar) with your sweets and empty the packet into the cup before the show starts!
Have to admit to falling asleep! Pre-Covid I would normally be up at 0500 for work, so after a full day of work, the drive home, the tube into London and then be in a warm, dark room ..... it happens.
Regarding fidgeting...I feel like it's sort of part of the "live theater" experience. You're seeing a show with other real live humans there, you can't expect it to be a perfectly non-distracting environment like if you were watching a movie in your own home. Yes, don't talk or incessantly unwrap candy, but people sneeze or have to move their legs around or whatever, that's just part of it. I can't imagine getting annoyed at a fidgeter unless they were actively encroaching on my space.
My fidgeting in theatre tends to be searching my bag or pockets for my tissues, usually while tears are literally streaming down my face! I try to remember to get them out before the show starts, but if I am not familiar with the show then I may not realise someone dies or gets hurt, etc!
My boyfriend (he's Italian) took me to the opera in Scotland for my birthday last year and people had their shoes off and feet up on the seats behind us. Thought he was going to blow up honestly.
The most important thing to remember as an audience member is that we are not the only people there, every other person in the room has paid money to be there and see a show, we are there to serve the actors essentially. If we behave as a good audience, the actors on stage will feed from it and perform for us and remember the show and not being distracted. One thing that is never mentioned in any of these lists is leaning forward in your seat! It can completely block the view of the person behind you.
The last one about clapping at appropriate times ... I remember many years ago when I purchased tickets for wicked I saw a thing about theatre etiquette on the site. It explained about keeping clapping and cheering til the end of the show or a the end of a song etc. One example they wrote was when people start cheering when they favourite cast member comes on for the first time and it can be very distracting for both the cast and the audience. I don't know how true this is but they said it is more common on Broadway. I noticed when seeing Wicked a group of girls who kept cheering whenever a character appeared for the first time ...as it turned out they WERE all American lol
I was seeing the wizard of oz this one time and the person in front of us legitimately took a phone call during the second half. Everyone was so pissed off. Cause we’d all pay to be there to see this show and there she was with her phone not on silent and then answering the call and continuing to sit in her seat for the duration of it.
i always still like dressing a bit nicer than usual for the theatre cause it’s so special to me but usually not anything too special but i think just wear whatever you feel comfortable in x
I'm one of the people who went and saw les mis after coming off a plane.. didn't sleep in like 24+ hours but wanted to see carrie perform ,Was worth it :) i think the rudest audiance iv been in was for prince of Egypt, people going to their seats and blocking the view in the frist song. Had a lady with her phone unlocked to my right so i got this bright light near me for 20 mins. Someone else choose to take off a jumper blocking the view. the people next to me didn't come back for act 2 and a few other things (could be here all day)
i was so nearly a late comer but i just made it which was so lucky! i remember the people who came like 1 minute late were let in and stood at the back until the point when they could sit down but the people who were later had to wait outside x
Absolutely agree that you should appreciate all aspects of the show and clap even if you didn't love it. However, some may not be clapping due to sensory issues or disability, i.e autism.
The ONE time I’ve removed my shoes at a show was Once on Broadway. New York was VERY slushy and all our shoes were SOAKED and FREEZING. So my mom and I bought extra socks before hand and tucked our shoes under the seat and put on the dry socks. I didn’t feel good about it but it also felt necessary
When we saw Addams in Bradford, me and my 2 friends were busting for the loo like I’m talking our bladders were on the edge of bursting but we were in the middle of a row near the front so didn’t want to disturb anyone, as soon as act 1 ended we ran to the loos 😂😂
I mentioned this on last nights video about when I saw Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act and she was the first on stage so the applause for her was done without interrupting the show. We clapped before she spoke so it wasn’t a case of interrupting her monologue at the beginning. We clapped for Whoopi and then the show started. Even in New York I haven’t been aware of an actors entrance stopping the show, except for the clips of Colleen Ballinger in Waitress where they applauded everyone who entered the stage in a Waitress outfit because they thought it was Colleen. It’s definitely an interesting topic of conversation x
Someone right in front of me was for real wearing a cowboy hat when I went to see Wicked on Broadway! I felt so bad asking the usher to say something to him, but it was blocking so much of our view!!
I totally get the “don’t tell people off” thing because people definitely take it too far. I was watching JC Superstar and literally just reacting to what was going on on stage in an appropriate way and the lady next to me decided to tell me off and say that I was “ruining her experience” made me feel super embarrassed and I couldn’t really enjoy the rest of the show. I’ve had people get annoyed at standing ovations before as well which is just bad manners, I think some people should just stay home and watch a movie instead.
Group 1 was sitting 2 rows ahead of me and came in 5min into the show. They took their time taking off their coats, etc. while still standing. Then they noticed there was a couple empty seats a few rows closer so they got up again and moved. THEN the group whose seats they moved into arrived 10min into the show so group 1 had to move again. THEN group 2 decided to leave 5min before the end of the show.
Just fyi about taking shoes off and not doing it unless you have to, I have chronic foot pain that often leads to me having to take my shoes off to relieve pressure. However, I don't look disabled (whatever disabled people are meant to look like) and I'm always afraid of judgement. I'd just say, don't be too sure of which people do and don't need to do that, especially since I often end up sitting on my legs naturally because it's the most comfortable for me, so it may look like that's the reason I'm doing it. (As a side note, though, I don't actually see the problem of taking your shoes off even if you don't need to, as long as you're not putting your feet in anyone else's face.)
I have taken my shoes off in theatres too. That being said, I usually just rest them on top of my shoes, so those around me probably don't even realise I have them off. Either I have been walking around London and my feet are sore in my shoes and I pop them off or even half off - like taking your heels out but leaving your toes in your shoes. Or I am "dressed up" and am wearing heels or fancy sandals, which are quite hard to "relax" your feet in (the heels just get in the way horribly and I end up twisting my ankles and then after an hour I can barely walk to use the loo in the interval!), but again I pop them off and usually just rest my feet on top of the shoe. I would never dream of "raising" my feet, shoes or not, to have them on the back of the chair in front, etc!
I kind of get the perfume one. As a massive theatre goer with a really sensitive nose, sitting next to someone with lots or strong perfume/aftershave is my worst nightmare. As I'll either start sneezing or my nose will get runny which then causes me to annoy others my constantly blowing my nose. Completely ruins the show for me but you can't stop people wearing what they want to
I'm on board with that smells one - at least conceptually, if not how they've written it. It'd be nice if people considered that they're forcing their idea of "nice" smells on everyone around them (sometimes everyone in a 5-10 meter bubble around them if they really lay it on heavy like some do). I'm also allergic, so...yeah, don't do that. Think about peoples' noses other than your own, thanks.
I remember seeing Mean girls on broadway and when the plastics first came out on the table, the audience clapped and cheered which I thought was really cool but I think it might just be because the characters are so iconic x
Hi Carrie and Oli! This is one for morning or evening. Insurance do you have like insurance for your body or voice if you have an accident or hurt yourself inside/outside work xx
about falling asleep during a show: when i was 16 i went on a trip to NYC with my schools dance program, something they do every other year. we had to be at the airport at like 3 AM or something, and went to see the Paul Taylor Dance Company perform later that night. also, i have sleep problems and have to take medicine at 8 every night. so at the performance i was already tired from traveling AND i had taken medicine that made me sleepy (i should’ve waited to take it but oh well). throughout the show i was doing the classic sleeping head bob where my head would slip and i would jerk back up, only to do the same thing over and over again. also, every time a piece ended and people started clapping, i would start clapping too basically in my sleep. mind you i was surrounded by like 50 high school students who were all laughing about this; needless to say, they haven’t booked a show for the night we arrive on that trip ever since
I was working as a follow spot operator on a panto and someone had draped a high vis jacket over the rail of one of the boxes and we had to ask FOH to go down and ask them to move it because me and the other follow spot were SO distracted by it 😂
While watching this I had to giggle. Right after Oliver talks about the guy sitting in the front doing the slow clap in High Fidelity, an ad came on for High Fidelity lol. I love these tips. I've never been to a theater show but I want to. I'll keep these in mind if I do ever get to go!
I personally have a weird thing when it comes to perfume especially when you are sitting closely to others. My grandmothers is extremely allergic to perfumes and so there have been times where we have had to leave places because there was a lot of perfume in the area. This isn't specifically a theater thing for me, this is basically anywhere you might be close to strangers for a long amount of time.
A local theatre where I live has a rule that if you leave to go to the bathroom your out till intermission no exception. Also, I can't sit normal so I do sit with a leg up or something but I always try to be conscious of the people next to me and once I'm like that I don't fidget
I'd dress more formal but if I'm going to London for a show I make a day of it. So I wear combats but I do have a funky jacket and plain top. But I wear my walking shoes so that does look odd haha. I do loosen the shoelaces of my boots sometimes but never fully take them off. When I saw women in black they handed out a cup to tip your sweets into and that's a great idea. My colleague had a lady singing along at the staged concert and she told her to not do that. She got so fed up that she got a FOH staff involved when she continued she got threatened to be kicked out! Thankfully she shut up after that. Great video! Kept getting distracted by Edgar hes such a cutie.
it's fascinating to me how going to the theatre can be so different from country to country. It's so casual in the UK. Here in Austria it's mostly very formal. No food or drinks in the theatre (except for in the interval at the bar) and you definitely will feel weird if you don't dress up. :D
Haha on the note of fidgeting.. normally it doesn't bother me too much as we all need to move to get comfortable.... However, seeing Eddie Izzard last October in Leeds, I had a lady in front of me who would NOT stop. If she leaned forward, I could not see (we were higher up ) . She kept going back forth, back forth back forth. Then she seemed to stay in one position and it was fine for 10 minutes. THEN she decided to lay down, I kid you not, across two seats and use her coat as a pillow. Then she got up and started to move forwards constantly again. By the interval I was so mad, as she kept restricting my view!! And I was trying not to move myself as I didn't want to cause an issue for anyone behind me...... Turns out nobody was sat behind me at all for 3 seats wide, so I could have moved when she did haha and not made anyone mad haha!!!! Also, I was going to have a word, but during the interval she moved to another empty seat further down and became someone else's issue 😂😂 so at least I got to watch the last hour without having to deal with her.
As someone who doesn’t live in the UK I always hate it when people are being annoying in a theatre. It costs a lot of money and I want to enjoy the show while I can, so people that disturb that experience really don’t know how much it affects people who live outside of the UK. Great video, though! And I love sleeping Edgar :)
Yep. Totally agree. I am UK but have to travel to London from my home. I don’t want to have travelled half the day and having spent train fare plus the theatre ticket to then have Sandra wail along to mamma Mia whilst scoffing a bag of Doritos
I have so many experiences of people having terrible theatre etiquette. When I saw 42nd Street, the woman sat in front of me had gone out in the interval and came back with a Chinese takeaway to eat during the second half! At the Fortune Theatre where Woman in Black is though, because it's so small and and the show itself requires absolute silence at times, they will sell the bags of sweets but once you've purchased them they'll tip them into a plastic pint glass so that you don't rustle throughout the performance. Maybe other theatres could adopt something similar? It worked wonders there.
my mum is allergic to perfumes and so struggles alot. not so bad if people have only put a little on and been walking around a while so its only mild scent but when people reapply every bathroom break my poor mums throat will seize up.
I saw Motown in the opera house in Manchester and before it had even started people were clearly quite drunk and were already singing their hearts out to the tracks playing before the curtain went up. The ushers had to speak to multiple groups and even removed one. But I still had a great night because Ed who played the lead was able to joke about the situation in character and it was brilliant
People who come to their seats from the wrong side/wrong door and force everyone to stand up on the row 😭 I have also been to captioned shows... people think it’s then karaoke even more than before.
Oh my gosh I actually had a dream last night where the middle section of the audience had a clump of girls singing along really loudly. It started off that Marisha Wallace in Waitress was singing one of Jenna's songs, then the show suddenly turned into Six and that's when people started to sing. Then a man very angrily turned around and shouted STOP STOP to the point the show paused. 🤣
the day before I went to see les mis, it was an evening show I went on a student night out the night before, long story short my boyfriend got punched in the face and we spend the rest of the night in a and e til 4 am, I got about 3 hours sleep and I was actually dying with how tired I was but can safely say that I can never fallen asleep in the theatre
When I seen Hamilton for the first time, the woman in front complained about the west end cast being worse than the broadway cast she had seen prior and she kept leaning forward blocking my view. Spent over £100 for a ticket for her to block my view of the stage throughout the entire first half, asked politely if she could sit back and she leaned even more forward, so much so the man behind me couldn’t even see over her head 🤦♀️ Please don’t lean forward, if you can’t see the entire stage then think about the chances of the person sitting directly behind you being able to see it too 🙃🙃
I can’t believe the clapping for an actor’s first appearance on stage isn’t a thing for you! I never realized that it might not happen everywhere and I’ve just come to expect it now at any show.....
In Canada most of our theatres try and be scent free due to allergies... I'm sure people still use perfume/body spray but having notices up like that may remind some of the worst offenders to not use a heavy hand when applying!
Hi Both! Loving these videos. My siblings and partner and I took my mum to see We Will Rock You at the Palace in Manchester in February. There was a group of four people sat in a row in front of us who kept talking and leaning across each other during the performance. It was so distracting and really affected what should have been a great gift. We politely asked them to stop multiple times, we got a really angry reaction and they then continued doing it throughout the show, which was so disappointing. Just wondering what you think would have been the best way to deal with that situation? 😊
For our 2018 panto, we had a director who, let’s just say, wasn’t our favourite.... She then auditioned for the 2019 panto, got cast got a good part and then dropped out for whatever reason. She then came to watch that years panto and then sat on the second row, stoned faced , slumped in her chair and not clapping throughout all of the final number while everyone around her was giving the show a standing ovation and cheering. She stood out so much!! It was just kinda weird because she is very much for theatre etiquette and things such as absolute silence in the wings. (I now know her better and like her a lot more 😂) ❤️
I'm quite lucky I haven't had many bad experiences with other people's etiquette. When I saw Jamie someone next to me was sat on their phone so I just had to ignore it, and when I saw The Boy in the Dress someone was being really loud rustling their sweets and then an argument was made about it between two parents, but luckily I'd seen the show before so I just tried to ignore it. I think the worst was when I saw The Hunting Lodge at the Unicorn Theatre, with it being a theatre aimed at younger audiences, I had a child kicking the back of my chair but because of the way the seats were made, it completely pushed my chair forward each time because they weren't connected at the back. Ever so annoying! Also, funny note, I was at Sweet Charity the same night as Carrie sat in the circle opposite, and I remember at one point noticing she had disappeared and being like "Huh? Carrie's disappeared" only to then notice her stood in the circle 10 minutes later. Made me giggle!
We had a nightmare family in front of us at Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Their youngest child was maybe 6 or 7 and was just a bit too young to follow the story. Every few minutes she was asking her mum loudly what was happening, standing up and leaning forward because she couldnt see (whilst wearing a big paper hat from some pizza restaurant). It was so distracting but we didnt feel like we could say anything as she was so young and it wasnt her fault. Her grandma though was awful, she was in the restricted view seat right at the end (presumably through choice to let her grandchildren get the better view). She was having a go at a child in front of her who was maybe 10 and moving around a little to see better. She was being really horrible to this child and threatening to get her kicked out so loudly that the whole block of seats could hear this argument. All while her own grandchild was being far more distracting and we were holding our tongues! She then threw a massive strop and left the rest of her family at the interval and didnt come back (thank goodness!)
I always feel so bad at shows and concerts (concerts especially when we all stand in our seats or it's standing tickets) because I'm so tall!! Always worried I'm blocking someone's view
I went to a local theatre to see woman in black and was horrified to see a school trip turn up as I went into the theatre. They text throughout the show, the light was so distracting and every time there was a jump they would scream followed by a massive giggle “omg I can’t believe I just screamed”. Totally ruined the experience
I agree with to much perfume. I have such a strong sense of smell, and it does make me sick when it's to much. And re late comers, I get it. But front of house always let's them in after the first big number which means that I miss the first 30 secs of the first scene
Hey Oliver! Have you heard Zach Braff and Donald Faison have been making a Scrubs podcast following each episode of the show? They’ve made it through season one and it’s been so great to listen to their insights on each episode!
With phones, I’ve always wondered - when I did backstage at school, if there were phones in the audience connecting to signal (sending/receiving messages, browsing internet etc) it would interfere with the headsets we used to communicate and we’d get loads of static, sometimes completely unable to hear each other for cues. It was several years ago but we used industry standard headsets and I’ve always wondered if this is also an issue in professional theatre or just the way our theatre was designed?
Gabriella FitzGerald it’s definitely an issue in professional theatres. Have you ever had that thing where your phone is too close to a speaker and you hear static coming out- that’s what it is like. I have volunteered and worked in professional theatres, including wearing headsets and it’s horrible when your cue goes fuzzy because of static! Fortunately by the time dress and tech has happened you pretty much know what you’re doing but if anything goes wrong the stage manager will come through on the headsets and it’s really annoying when you can’t hear them x
I can't bare it when people take up the whole arm rest. I tend to go to the theatre in the winter so i hug my big coat. So i don't use much, just rest my elbows. But some people are spread eagle over it. My first time at phantom a woman sang along and this woman turned around and told her that they had paid to hear the actor not her. I sometimes mouth it along. Or hum it in the break but that that's it. Belt when you get outside.
I’d never sing out loud in the theatre (unless it’s a singalong show) but is it just as bad mouthing along with a song? When I saw Six the second time having listened to the soundtrack a lot some of the songs I couldn’t help but mouth some of the lines I love.
I think that's fine. I mean, maybe don't conspicuously mouth the entire show but I frequently will mouth a favorite line too. I don't think it disturbs anyone.
I wanted to know this too. It's like when I saw Hamilton, I really wanted to do the 'awesome, wow' line from King George and 'the orphanage' from Eliza but I've always felt that it's so disrespectful to sing along and it annoys me when people around me do it so I mouthed along to those lines instead rather than singing.
One of the times I saw Everybody's Talking About Jamie two girls were having a loud conversation in the middle of a scene happening and the guy behind leaned forward and said "should i ask them to pause the show until you finish your conversation" and it was magnificent.
I wish i was ballsy enough to tell people to shut up like that.
me too i went with a friend who sang through act one of wicked i was so grateful for the woman who complained in front of us 🙏🏽
Im using this next time 😂
The word is lent not leaned
@@MsBryBry I do that sing that is
@@doyouhearthepeoplesing2 They're both variations of the same past participle so literally both are correct.
The singing along one is really important - sometimes you can't hear the performers over some random guy singing over them. I enthusiastically mime along so I feel like I'm singing along haha - I remember one time at Beautiful, Danielle Steers found my twitter & tweeted me saying seeing me singing along helped her get through the show, so if people want to be enthusiastic & sing along, I'd recommend just mouthing the words :)
I know I can't sing and I get annoyed myself at the people who say the lines or actually sing along. If I'm watching a show (the only professional musical I've seen was the Les Mis tour last year at the Birmingham Hippodrome because if I see a show I go with my mum and she has to want to see it too and for us it's too expensive to go to London to watch shows) and I know the lyrics I will mouth them.
As someone who has sensitive smell, asking people to avoid wearing too much perfume/aftershave/deodorant, I am totally on board with this. Those smells in particular can trigger nausea and migraine. I've spent a theatre performance trying to breathe through my balled up jumper because of this. B.O. is also as sickening. Strong smells from others for prolonged periods and especially places where it's awkward to leave completely distract from enjoying a show. And have brought me to a point of debating missing the second half of a show, which is a miserable and expensive.
I am the same. Sitting next to someone with a strong perfume can ruin the entire show for me, because I get a migraine..
Yes, not just is it a trigger for allergen but like, I'm autistic and a strong smell on top of a crowded theatre and a loud show can cause a total sensory meltdown, it's not like we can move seats away from the person with the strong perfume!
I'm similar, really strong scents give me such bad sinus headaches!
Also some people are straight up allergic to perfume, so not drenching yourself in it when you’re going to sit next to someone for a prolonged period of time is just good manners I think.
Yes! I'm sensitive to perfume and have had to sit through shows uncomfortable because the woman three seats away, I assume, decided to take a bath in perfume.
On what you wear: remember you will be sitting for a while! And the house is usually cold because stage is so hot with the lights etc. Bring a jacket, and wear comfortable clothes because you'll be sitting for a while :) just my two cents!
And we call the applauding when the person comes out “entrance applause” and it can happen for an actor or a character. Longest one I ever heard was Daniel Radcliffe in how to succeed - felt like a rock concert.
Not at the theatre, but I was once sat behind a woman on a bus and she had so much perfume on that I could taste it as I breathed.
A good rule of thumb is that the people beside you should be able to smell it, but not people 3 or 4 rows away.
I took my mum to see Hamilton in the West End soon after it opened and the girl behind us was singing along pretty loudly to the first couple of numbers. I turned around during the applause and told her to shut up because I paid a lot of money to hear the professionals sing, not her. The people either side of us thanked me for speaking up 😂
Good for you! There’s nothing I hate more in theatre but I’m always too nervous to say anything!
You are lucky you didn’t get punched in the face you can’t do that to people it’s not your business
I was brought up with Les Miserables and my mum and nan took me when I was 7 to the Queen’s Theatre. I was so excited and my favourite song was “On my Own” so I waited patiently enjoying the show for it to come on. As soon as it reached the climax of the song (I love him but everyday I’m learning) someone in the seat behind me said very loudly “Randy, can you get me some water?”. 7 year old me was quite frustrated 😄
This video reminds me so much of an issue I had watching the both of you in Adams. My husband and I were sat in stalls and we were placed next to a man who was rather pungent. He was drinking beer, smelt bad and fell asleep on my shoulder. When he wasn’t snoring, he talked through the opening song! During the intermission, I had to ask to swap seats. I was mortified for complaining but luckily the theatre were very accommodating! The show wasn’t spoilt!
the one thing i find distracting on stage is when someone is on their phone so there's like a weird ghostly light on a face in the audience and you're like "oh ok thanks for that"
the sleeping one brought back memories of my g12 music trip to new york (we used to travel to a different country once a year to perform and compete in festivals) and they had got us tickets to the new york philharmonic orchestra but it was the end of the trip and we were all exhausted and a whole other school group in the row behind us in the same boat, so there were about 100 teenage music nerds desperately trying to stay awake for this amazing performance. There was definitely snoring involved.
Also I see the nutcracker ballet every christmas and every time someone has snuck in a whole mcdonalds meal
Cheering for Lin Manuel Miranda's first entrance after "What's your name, man?" in Hamilton is such a release of excitement and tension and love and enthusiasm and a chance for the audience to give some audible appreciation so they don't just cheer throughout the whole song and after every line.
For the shoes one, I often wear flats and will sometimes slip them off to give my feet a break, but if you don't have slip on/off shoes, just leave them on.
I never have the urge to sing along when watching a show I know really well. I think that's because I can sing it all the time in my own house but right now, I am watching an amazingly talented actor and singer perform it right in front of me. I guess I'm kind of in awe when watching a show live, enough to not want to sing along!
I went to watch the Six tour in Cardiff, front row, super excited, I had an 8 year old girl to my right that was dressed up in costume (that she made herself), spent the whole build up to the show telling me about her favourite parts of the show and showing me messages from the actresses on her phone, adorable, Fangirling done right. I had a 16-17 year old to me left that sang out loud to every song and said EVERY PUNCH line before they were said on stage. The friend I went with knew nothing of the show before hand and it really took away from the experience. As I said before, we were front row so I'm sure it didn't go unnoticed by the girls on stage. I shot her several looks but as there's no interval it didn't give us much of an opportunity to say anything. It's a huge pet peeve of mine 😭 On the flip side though, when we saw Les mis at the Gielgud, my mum and I were leaning forward and, rightfully so, they asked us lean back, the last thing I want is to negatively impact someone else's experience, especially when we didn't realise what we were doing, so I definitely agree with speaking up! That way, we can all enjoy the show as much as possible
I have never fallen asleep completely during a show, but I have definitely started to doze off at times. I highly recommend making sure you're well rested prior to seeing a show.
Oh, Lord, I *am* one of those people who once bought a day-of ticket in Leicester Square to Les Mis the day that I landed in London...to then promptly fall asleep in the front row. I was terribly embarrassed (and mad at myself that I missed parts of the show). Though waking up to lock eyes with a woman playing in the orchestra pit, who was controlling her giggles with a smirk shot in my direction, is honestly one of my favorite memories of that trip.
i always enjoy how a lot of the playhouses (i know the liverpool playhouse does) will give you a plastic cup once you've bought sweets from them and will bin the wrapper for you and make sure you pour them into the cup so that you can't rustle !!
Now that’s a brilliant idea !!! All theatres should do this
This is a great idea!
the perfume thing i actually get why its on the list since you never know someone sitting close to you might be allergic or sensetive towards perfumes/smells(i know my mums throat closes up a bit whenever someone is wearing even the smallest of spritzes of perfume) :)
I've felt so bad ever since.. but I went to the toilet in the middle of Heathers at the haymarket.. I'd been at work all morning from 6am, I finished work got on the train to London then I had to eat and get a drink in the short time between arriving and the matinee starting. By the time it got to you're welcome I needed the toilet I couldn't wait any longer.. I had to run out haha
On the perfume/aftershave front, one time my mum and I went to the theatre and the guy in front of us was wearing so much aftershave it was overpowering and was making my mum cough so much she had to leave the auditorium- we swapped seats at the interval.
I love how oil was just causally sat next to Amanda Holden!!!
I’ve witnessed the clapping thing in the west end when I saw Hamilton. The room became electrified when he made his entrance and started clapping and cheering. It was amazing ❤️
The perfume thing we get told all the time in ensemble/rehearsa settings. The idea is you want to smell good but you dont want to be obnoxious about it
Good morning! Funny story about hats in the theater! So I was with my family at the recent production of Little Shop, and the guy in front of us had on a baseball cap with the brim pointing pretty much directly up, and all of us are quite short, so before the show started, we finally got up the courage to ask him to take his hat off. So he does, and his hair springs up to the same height as his hat! We found it unreasonably hilarious. I don't know why. It was great. Have a great day y'all!
hahahaha this made me snort.
Carries putting on perfume impression was really good wth
I had a girl sat near me and my friend when I went to see phantom who kept singing along,was annoying! I think I've been at shows where people have been noisy with sweets etc, think it would be a good idea for all theatres to do tubs!
morning everyone! have a great day and make sure you drink and eat enough today 💕
Awww you too 💕
Oh wow this is a sweet comment... also exactly what I needed, as I’m struggling to eat (anorexia) 😫💖
Suzy keep going, you’re doing amazing hope you are doing okay 💕
Suzy you're doing amazing just remember food is not the enemy it's the voice in your head! it gets easier i promise 💕
Very strong perfumes and scents give me a migraine ... i think they meant use deodorant and breath mints not use too much lol! I am a magnet for bad seat neighbours in the theatre, cinema and gigs LOL! Some people get rude and aggressive when you tell them about their behaviour and they could cause a major disruption for the whole audience x
As a disabled person the fidget rule is inevitable for me, it’s so painful to sit in those theatre seats I have to keep moving or my limbs and joints get stuck or they can dislocate, I have to be able to do slight movements to fix my joints.
Yeah my Mum has Bursitis and sitting down for hours is really painful for her so she has to readjust otherwise she'll be in total agony!
the only time I have sung along mildly out loud was at Heathers at the Haymarket during the Me inside of Me, where as a life long horse lover who asked Santa for a pony every Christmas to no avail, I turned to my mother and 'sang' (barely audible) 'she's the Horse I never got for Christmas!' right at her. I got a kick out of that
Not surprised You didn’t catch the American reference. Miss manners is an American etiquette columnist! People write in and they ask her etiquette questions and she answers them!
My mum always always books the end of a row so she can sit on the end as she has hip problems so she can spread her leg a bit, but it would have worked out brilliantly as we were due to see Hello Dolly in August and I would have been 36 weeks pregnant! I would have been happy to go knowing I could sneak off for wees without getting in anyone's way! Obviously doesn't matter now but it would have worked!
A good theatre snack hack is ask for a plastic drinks cup (which they will usually have at the bar) with your sweets and empty the packet into the cup before the show starts!
Have to admit to falling asleep! Pre-Covid I would normally be up at 0500 for work, so after a full day of work, the drive home, the tube into London and then be in a warm, dark room ..... it happens.
I always dress up for the theatre!
Regarding fidgeting...I feel like it's sort of part of the "live theater" experience. You're seeing a show with other real live humans there, you can't expect it to be a perfectly non-distracting environment like if you were watching a movie in your own home. Yes, don't talk or incessantly unwrap candy, but people sneeze or have to move their legs around or whatever, that's just part of it. I can't imagine getting annoyed at a fidgeter unless they were actively encroaching on my space.
My fidgeting in theatre tends to be searching my bag or pockets for my tissues, usually while tears are literally streaming down my face! I try to remember to get them out before the show starts, but if I am not familiar with the show then I may not realise someone dies or gets hurt, etc!
My boyfriend (he's Italian) took me to the opera in Scotland for my birthday last year and people had their shoes off and feet up on the seats behind us. Thought he was going to blow up honestly.
The most important thing to remember as an audience member is that we are not the only people there, every other person in the room has paid money to be there and see a show, we are there to serve the actors essentially. If we behave as a good audience, the actors on stage will feed from it and perform for us and remember the show and not being distracted.
One thing that is never mentioned in any of these lists is leaning forward in your seat! It can completely block the view of the person behind you.
The last one about clapping at appropriate times ... I remember many years ago when I purchased tickets for wicked I saw a thing about theatre etiquette on the site. It explained about keeping clapping and cheering til the end of the show or a the end of a song etc. One example they wrote was when people start cheering when they favourite cast member comes on for the first time and it can be very distracting for both the cast and the audience. I don't know how true this is but they said it is more common on Broadway. I noticed when seeing Wicked a group of girls who kept cheering whenever a character appeared for the first time ...as it turned out they WERE all American lol
I was seeing the wizard of oz this one time and the person in front of us legitimately took a phone call during the second half. Everyone was so pissed off. Cause we’d all pay to be there to see this show and there she was with her phone not on silent and then answering the call and continuing to sit in her seat for the duration of it.
i always still like dressing a bit nicer than usual for the theatre cause it’s so special to me but usually not anything too special but i think just wear whatever you feel comfortable in x
I'm one of the people who went and saw les mis after coming off a plane.. didn't sleep in like 24+ hours but wanted to see carrie perform ,Was worth it :)
i think the rudest audiance iv been in was for prince of Egypt, people going to their seats and blocking the view in the frist song. Had a lady with her phone unlocked to my right so i got this bright light near me for 20 mins. Someone else choose to take off a jumper blocking the view. the people next to me didn't come back for act 2 and a few other things (could be here all day)
i was so nearly a late comer but i just made it which was so lucky! i remember the people who came like 1 minute late were let in and stood at the back until the point when they could sit down but the people who were later had to wait outside x
Absolutely agree that you should appreciate all aspects of the show and clap even if you didn't love it. However, some may not be clapping due to sensory issues or disability, i.e autism.
The ONE time I’ve removed my shoes at a show was Once on Broadway. New York was VERY slushy and all our shoes were SOAKED and FREEZING. So my mom and I bought extra socks before hand and tucked our shoes under the seat and put on the dry socks. I didn’t feel good about it but it also felt necessary
One time when my hair was neon pink, apparently when the stage lights were on all the cast could see was my hair!!
Lol😋
Can we just talk about the absolute perfect timing of Edgar turning up in the video during the talk about late comers. 😂😂😂😂
When we saw Addams in Bradford, me and my 2 friends were busting for the loo like I’m talking our bladders were on the edge of bursting but we were in the middle of a row near the front so didn’t want to disturb anyone, as soon as act 1 ended we ran to the loos 😂😂
I mentioned this on last nights video about when I saw Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act and she was the first on stage so the applause for her was done without interrupting the show. We clapped before she spoke so it wasn’t a case of interrupting her monologue at the beginning. We clapped for Whoopi and then the show started. Even in New York I haven’t been aware of an actors entrance stopping the show, except for the clips of Colleen Ballinger in Waitress where they applauded everyone who entered the stage in a Waitress outfit because they thought it was Colleen. It’s definitely an interesting topic of conversation x
Someone right in front of me was for real wearing a cowboy hat when I went to see Wicked on Broadway! I felt so bad asking the usher to say something to him, but it was blocking so much of our view!!
I totally get the “don’t tell people off” thing because people definitely take it too far. I was watching JC Superstar and literally just reacting to what was going on on stage in an appropriate way and the lady next to me decided to tell me off and say that I was “ruining her experience” made me feel super embarrassed and I couldn’t really enjoy the rest of the show. I’ve had people get annoyed at standing ovations before as well which is just bad manners, I think some people should just stay home and watch a movie instead.
Group 1 was sitting 2 rows ahead of me and came in 5min into the show. They took their time taking off their coats, etc. while still standing. Then they noticed there was a couple empty seats a few rows closer so they got up again and moved.
THEN the group whose seats they moved into arrived 10min into the show so group 1 had to move again.
THEN group 2 decided to leave 5min before the end of the show.
Just fyi about taking shoes off and not doing it unless you have to, I have chronic foot pain that often leads to me having to take my shoes off to relieve pressure. However, I don't look disabled (whatever disabled people are meant to look like) and I'm always afraid of judgement. I'd just say, don't be too sure of which people do and don't need to do that, especially since I often end up sitting on my legs naturally because it's the most comfortable for me, so it may look like that's the reason I'm doing it.
(As a side note, though, I don't actually see the problem of taking your shoes off even if you don't need to, as long as you're not putting your feet in anyone else's face.)
I have taken my shoes off in theatres too. That being said, I usually just rest them on top of my shoes, so those around me probably don't even realise I have them off. Either I have been walking around London and my feet are sore in my shoes and I pop them off or even half off - like taking your heels out but leaving your toes in your shoes. Or I am "dressed up" and am wearing heels or fancy sandals, which are quite hard to "relax" your feet in (the heels just get in the way horribly and I end up twisting my ankles and then after an hour I can barely walk to use the loo in the interval!), but again I pop them off and usually just rest my feet on top of the shoe. I would never dream of "raising" my feet, shoes or not, to have them on the back of the chair in front, etc!
I kind of get the perfume one. As a massive theatre goer with a really sensitive nose, sitting next to someone with lots or strong perfume/aftershave is my worst nightmare. As I'll either start sneezing or my nose will get runny which then causes me to annoy others my constantly blowing my nose. Completely ruins the show for me but you can't stop people wearing what they want to
I'm on board with that smells one - at least conceptually, if not how they've written it. It'd be nice if people considered that they're forcing their idea of "nice" smells on everyone around them (sometimes everyone in a 5-10 meter bubble around them if they really lay it on heavy like some do). I'm also allergic, so...yeah, don't do that. Think about peoples' noses other than your own, thanks.
I remember seeing Mean girls on broadway and when the plastics first came out on the table, the audience clapped and cheered which I thought was really cool but I think it might just be because the characters are so iconic x
Hi Carrie and Oli! This is one for morning or evening. Insurance do you have like insurance for your body or voice if you have an accident or hurt yourself inside/outside work xx
about falling asleep during a show: when i was 16 i went on a trip to NYC with my schools dance program, something they do every other year. we had to be at the airport at like 3 AM or something, and went to see the Paul Taylor Dance Company perform later that night. also, i have sleep problems and have to take medicine at 8 every night. so at the performance i was already tired from traveling AND i had taken medicine that made me sleepy (i should’ve waited to take it but oh well). throughout the show i was doing the classic sleeping head bob where my head would slip and i would jerk back up, only to do the same thing over and over again. also, every time a piece ended and people started clapping, i would start clapping too basically in my sleep. mind you i was surrounded by like 50 high school students who were all laughing about this; needless to say, they haven’t booked a show for the night we arrive on that trip ever since
I was working as a follow spot operator on a panto and someone had draped a high vis jacket over the rail of one of the boxes and we had to ask FOH to go down and ask them to move it because me and the other follow spot were SO distracted by it 😂
Love your knew hair cut what a difference a whole new person
While watching this I had to giggle. Right after Oliver talks about the guy sitting in the front doing the slow clap in High Fidelity, an ad came on for High Fidelity lol. I love these tips. I've never been to a theater show but I want to. I'll keep these in mind if I do ever get to go!
I personally have a weird thing when it comes to perfume especially when you are sitting closely to others. My grandmothers is extremely allergic to perfumes and so there have been times where we have had to leave places because there was a lot of perfume in the area. This isn't specifically a theater thing for me, this is basically anywhere you might be close to strangers for a long amount of time.
A local theatre where I live has a rule that if you leave to go to the bathroom your out till intermission no exception. Also, I can't sit normal so I do sit with a leg up or something but I always try to be conscious of the people next to me and once I'm like that I don't fidget
I'd dress more formal but if I'm going to London for a show I make a day of it. So I wear combats but I do have a funky jacket and plain top. But I wear my walking shoes so that does look odd haha. I do loosen the shoelaces of my boots sometimes but never fully take them off. When I saw women in black they handed out a cup to tip your sweets into and that's a great idea. My colleague had a lady singing along at the staged concert and she told her to not do that. She got so fed up that she got a FOH staff involved when she continued she got threatened to be kicked out! Thankfully she shut up after that. Great video! Kept getting distracted by Edgar hes such a cutie.
it's fascinating to me how going to the theatre can be so different from country to country. It's so casual in the UK. Here in Austria it's mostly very formal. No food or drinks in the theatre (except for in the interval at the bar) and you definitely will feel weird if you don't dress up. :D
Haha on the note of fidgeting.. normally it doesn't bother me too much as we all need to move to get comfortable.... However, seeing Eddie Izzard last October in Leeds, I had a lady in front of me who would NOT stop. If she leaned forward, I could not see (we were higher up ) . She kept going back forth, back forth back forth. Then she seemed to stay in one position and it was fine for 10 minutes. THEN she decided to lay down, I kid you not, across two seats and use her coat as a pillow. Then she got up and started to move forwards constantly again. By the interval I was so mad, as she kept restricting my view!! And I was trying not to move myself as I didn't want to cause an issue for anyone behind me...... Turns out nobody was sat behind me at all for 3 seats wide, so I could have moved when she did haha and not made anyone mad haha!!!! Also, I was going to have a word, but during the interval she moved to another empty seat further down and became someone else's issue 😂😂 so at least I got to watch the last hour without having to deal with her.
As someone who doesn’t live in the UK I always hate it when people are being annoying in a theatre. It costs a lot of money and I want to enjoy the show while I can, so people that disturb that experience really don’t know how much it affects people who live outside of the UK.
Great video, though! And I love sleeping Edgar :)
Yep. Totally agree. I am UK but have to travel to London from my home. I don’t want to have travelled half the day and having spent train fare plus the theatre ticket to then have Sandra wail along to mamma Mia whilst scoffing a bag of Doritos
I have so many experiences of people having terrible theatre etiquette. When I saw 42nd Street, the woman sat in front of me had gone out in the interval and came back with a Chinese takeaway to eat during the second half!
At the Fortune Theatre where Woman in Black is though, because it's so small and and the show itself requires absolute silence at times, they will sell the bags of sweets but once you've purchased them they'll tip them into a plastic pint glass so that you don't rustle throughout the performance. Maybe other theatres could adopt something similar? It worked wonders there.
Morning chaps! How you finding being cat parents! My Arthur is 4 and personally! It’s the best job in the world 🤩😆
my mum is allergic to perfumes and so struggles alot. not so bad if people have only put a little on and been walking around a while so its only mild scent but when people reapply every bathroom break my poor mums throat will seize up.
I had someone singing along to Les Mis next to me in Manchester. So fricking annoying!
my thinking has always been if you wouldn’t do it in an exam hall, don’t do it in a theatre!
Clapping when the curtains haven't even opened, I don't get that as you're going to show your appreciation for the work and talent at the end.
I saw Motown in the opera house in Manchester and before it had even started people were clearly quite drunk and were already singing their hearts out to the tracks playing before the curtain went up. The ushers had to speak to multiple groups and even removed one. But I still had a great night because Ed who played the lead was able to joke about the situation in character and it was brilliant
People who come to their seats from the wrong side/wrong door and force everyone to stand up on the row 😭 I have also been to captioned shows... people think it’s then karaoke even more than before.
Oh my gosh I actually had a dream last night where the middle section of the audience had a clump of girls singing along really loudly. It started off that Marisha Wallace in Waitress was singing one of Jenna's songs, then the show suddenly turned into Six and that's when people started to sing. Then a man very angrily turned around and shouted STOP STOP to the point the show paused. 🤣
the day before I went to see les mis, it was an evening show I went on a student night out the night before, long story short my boyfriend got punched in the face and we spend the rest of the night in a and e til 4 am, I got about 3 hours sleep and I was actually dying with how tired I was but can safely say that I can never fallen asleep in the theatre
now we know what video Oli was filming ❄️❄️
When I seen Hamilton for the first time, the woman in front complained about the west end cast being worse than the broadway cast she had seen prior and she kept leaning forward blocking my view. Spent over £100 for a ticket for her to block my view of the stage throughout the entire first half, asked politely if she could sit back and she leaned even more forward, so much so the man behind me couldn’t even see over her head 🤦♀️
Please don’t lean forward, if you can’t see the entire stage then think about the chances of the person sitting directly behind you being able to see it too 🙃🙃
When I saw dream girls in the west end everyone clapped when Amber Riley walked out x
Your hair cut looks great a whole new person
when Oli did the arm rest thing I was somehow reminded of the Grinch when he tries his outfits on, anyone else?
Aha awww how is being a parent to a cat guys. I agree it’s stressful my cat always wakes me up! Xxxx
I can’t believe the clapping for an actor’s first appearance on stage isn’t a thing for you! I never realized that it might not happen everywhere and I’ve just come to expect it now at any show.....
In Canada most of our theatres try and be scent free due to allergies... I'm sure people still use perfume/body spray but having notices up like that may remind some of the worst offenders to not use a heavy hand when applying!
Hi Both! Loving these videos. My siblings and partner and I took my mum to see We Will Rock You at the Palace in Manchester in February. There was a group of four people sat in a row in front of us who kept talking and leaning across each other during the performance. It was so distracting and really affected what should have been a great gift. We politely asked them to stop multiple times, we got a really angry reaction and they then continued doing it throughout the show, which was so disappointing. Just wondering what you think would have been the best way to deal with that situation? 😊
For our 2018 panto, we had a director who, let’s just say, wasn’t our favourite.... She then auditioned for the 2019 panto, got cast got a good part and then dropped out for whatever reason. She then came to watch that years panto and then sat on the second row, stoned faced , slumped in her chair and not clapping throughout all of the final number while everyone around her was giving the show a standing ovation and cheering. She stood out so much!! It was just kinda weird because she is very much for theatre etiquette and things such as absolute silence in the wings. (I now know her better and like her a lot more 😂) ❤️
I'm quite lucky I haven't had many bad experiences with other people's etiquette. When I saw Jamie someone next to me was sat on their phone so I just had to ignore it, and when I saw The Boy in the Dress someone was being really loud rustling their sweets and then an argument was made about it between two parents, but luckily I'd seen the show before so I just tried to ignore it. I think the worst was when I saw The Hunting Lodge at the Unicorn Theatre, with it being a theatre aimed at younger audiences, I had a child kicking the back of my chair but because of the way the seats were made, it completely pushed my chair forward each time because they weren't connected at the back. Ever so annoying!
Also, funny note, I was at Sweet Charity the same night as Carrie sat in the circle opposite, and I remember at one point noticing she had disappeared and being like "Huh? Carrie's disappeared" only to then notice her stood in the circle 10 minutes later. Made me giggle!
We had a nightmare family in front of us at Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Their youngest child was maybe 6 or 7 and was just a bit too young to follow the story. Every few minutes she was asking her mum loudly what was happening, standing up and leaning forward because she couldnt see (whilst wearing a big paper hat from some pizza restaurant). It was so distracting but we didnt feel like we could say anything as she was so young and it wasnt her fault. Her grandma though was awful, she was in the restricted view seat right at the end (presumably through choice to let her grandchildren get the better view). She was having a go at a child in front of her who was maybe 10 and moving around a little to see better. She was being really horrible to this child and threatening to get her kicked out so loudly that the whole block of seats could hear this argument. All while her own grandchild was being far more distracting and we were holding our tongues! She then threw a massive strop and left the rest of her family at the interval and didnt come back (thank goodness!)
Morning everyone! 🌺
I always feel so bad at shows and concerts (concerts especially when we all stand in our seats or it's standing tickets) because I'm so tall!! Always worried I'm blocking someone's view
I went to a local theatre to see woman in black and was horrified to see a school trip turn up as I went into the theatre. They text throughout the show, the light was so distracting and every time there was a jump they would scream followed by a massive giggle “omg I can’t believe I just screamed”. Totally ruined the experience
I agree with to much perfume. I have such a strong sense of smell, and it does make me sick when it's to much.
And re late comers, I get it. But front of house always let's them in after the first big number which means that I miss the first 30 secs of the first scene
Hey Oliver! Have you heard Zach Braff and Donald Faison have been making a Scrubs podcast following each episode of the show? They’ve made it through season one and it’s been so great to listen to their insights on each episode!
Am I the only one who is very impressed by Carrie's impersonation of someone spraying perfume?
With phones, I’ve always wondered - when I did backstage at school, if there were phones in the audience connecting to signal (sending/receiving messages, browsing internet etc) it would interfere with the headsets we used to communicate and we’d get loads of static, sometimes completely unable to hear each other for cues. It was several years ago but we used industry standard headsets and I’ve always wondered if this is also an issue in professional theatre or just the way our theatre was designed?
Gabriella FitzGerald it’s definitely an issue in professional theatres. Have you ever had that thing where your phone is too close to a speaker and you hear static coming out- that’s what it is like. I have volunteered and worked in professional theatres, including wearing headsets and it’s horrible when your cue goes fuzzy because of static! Fortunately by the time dress and tech has happened you pretty much know what you’re doing but if anything goes wrong the stage manager will come through on the headsets and it’s really annoying when you can’t hear them x
I imagine there’s a lot less fidgeting at the Sondheim than when it was the Queen’s which had the most uncomfortable seats.
I can't bare it when people take up the whole arm rest. I tend to go to the theatre in the winter so i hug my big coat. So i don't use much, just rest my elbows. But some people are spread eagle over it.
My first time at phantom a woman sang along and this woman turned around and told her that they had paid to hear the actor not her. I sometimes mouth it along. Or hum it in the break but that that's it. Belt when you get outside.
Good morning xxxxx
I’d never sing out loud in the theatre (unless it’s a singalong show) but is it just as bad mouthing along with a song? When I saw Six the second time having listened to the soundtrack a lot some of the songs I couldn’t help but mouth some of the lines I love.
I always mouth along but never sing out loud, I don't think that would be much of a problem?
I think that's fine. I mean, maybe don't conspicuously mouth the entire show but I frequently will mouth a favorite line too. I don't think it disturbs anyone.
I wanted to know this too. It's like when I saw Hamilton, I really wanted to do the 'awesome, wow' line from King George and 'the orphanage' from Eliza but I've always felt that it's so disrespectful to sing along and it annoys me when people around me do it so I mouthed along to those lines instead rather than singing.