Punch-ups in the stalls. Drunken audience members singing and shouting over songs. Theatregoers filming performances – or just watching something else on their phones instead. These are just some of the examples of bad behaviour recently reported in theatres. What on earth is it like for actors to contend with such unruliness?
“I was in Dreamgirls and there would be fights in the audience,” recalls West End actor Marisha Wallace. “It was wild. It happened so often that they had to get more security and put extra signs up that said: ‘Don’t sing, don’t dance.’” She continues: “It’s off-putting and you don’t want to stop the show and ruin it even more for everyone else. It’s very distracting when you’re trying to sing, act and dance. It’s unsafe as well because any noises, or anything that throws you, will put you in the wrong spot on stage.” In these instances, she says, actors could “get hit by a piece of scenery” or even end up falling off the stage.
