Badly behaving audiences have been in the news after the incident at The Bodyguard in Manchester. But does the crisis affect London theatre too? We asked actors, critics and staff about their worst experiences. An usher in a West End theatre told us they broke up a fist fight between a man and a woman last week. We have also heard horror stories from staff who say they have been vomited on and attacked.
Matilda the Musical was recently ruined for one fan by a row of people eating burgers out of takeaway bags. Actor Paddy Lock was performing in Their Finest Hour last month when, “during my cast mate’s monologue, a woman in the front row took her phone out and filmed with the flash on.” Theatre critic Charlie Froy fears we are “policing reactions to art”. Or have people lost their manners?
