On Good Friday, police were called to a Manchester performance of The Bodyguard musical after staff at the Palace theatre, who were attempting to quieten an audience member singing loudly, were greeted with “unprecedented levels of violence”, according to the venue’s front of house supervisor. Other incidents of disruptive behaviour occurred recently during performances of Bat Out of Hell and The Drifters Girl in London, as well as Jersey Boys in Edinburgh. Meanwhile the Royal Opera House handed a lifetime ban to someone who heckled a child singer; the newsletter Popbitch and the comedian Tom Houghton have each reported couples having sex during performances; and an audience member at the Harold Pinter theatre took photos of James Norton naked in A Little Life (this turned out to be a pap who then sold them).
Such stories of audience bad behaviour have focused on two issues: what counts as proper etiquette at live shows, and the way audiences treat venue staff. For some people, audience members who eat, tap their feet or merely get up to use the toilet or laugh too loudly are deplorable. But that isn’t what’s derailing performances, and suggesting that it is not only deters some people from attending shows but also distracts from the problem of truly unacceptable behaviour.
