MUSICALS across the UK will be told to tone down their ads in a bid to curb the growing trend of abusive audiences.
Shows will reportedly be asked to avoid phrases such as “dancing in the aisles” and “best party in town” to calm down rowdy crowds.
According to The Stage, the UK’s biggest theatre operator is working with producers to alter any ads that may encourage such behaviour.
Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) confirmed the plans, with a spokesperson saying: “We’re taking a multidisciplinary approach to tackle challenging audience behaviour, covering all points of the customer journey, including how we market shows.
"We want everyone to fully enjoy the experience of a show and we work closely with producers to create appropriate marketing material.”
It follows a string of reports that some theatre-goers are becoming increasingly rowdy, with reports of verbal abuse as well as violence against staff.
Colin Marr, director of the Edinburgh Playhouse theatre, said he’d never known audience behaviour to be as bad since he took on the position five years ago.
He said: “One of the main things we are trying to do is around messaging and working closely with producers.
“We are talking to them about marketing. So, when we market shows let’s not have phrases such as ‘best party in town’ or ‘dancing in the aisles’ – the show has something much stronger than that to sell.”
Marr said some ads may send the message that it’s acceptable to sing along. "But actually, if you are in the row behind you don’t want that,” he said.
It follows a statement from Marr last week over the increasingly bad behaviour of audiences at the Scottish theatre.
At one performance of Jersey Boys the play had to be stopped after a fight broke out.
Enough is enough! I am disgusted and angry with the unacceptable audience behaviour that my team has had to endure in recent weeks.
— Edinburgh Playhouse (@edinplayhouse) February 8, 2023
He said: “Enough is enough! I am disgusted and angry with the unacceptable audience behaviour that my team has had to endure in recent weeks.
“They have been verbally and physically assaulted by a small number of audience members while trying to do their job. Two weeks ago one of my staff was punched. This week one of them was pushed and spat on."
He said the problem is becoming far too regular an occurrence, not just in the Edinburgh Playhouse but in venues across the UK.
He continued: “There is a very small minority of people who come to our theatre and choose to sing, dance and talk throughout the show in a manner that disturbs others.
"They either don’t know, or don’t care, how much this spoils their fellow audience members’ experience.
“When one of my team asks them politely to stop they become verbally abusive and, in some cases, physical. This is not acceptable.”
