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.
A recent survey by the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (Bectu) found that 90% of theatre venue employees had experienced or witnessed unacceptable behaviour from audiences – including assaults, vandalism and racist language – and 70% said things were worse than pre-pandemic. Standup and jukebox musicals, which feature the hits of famous acts, were the worst for bad behaviour.
Maddie (not her real name) has been a front of house assistant since 2019, at a theatre in the north staging plays, musicals and comedy. She says disruptive incidents now occur weekly and are increasingly serious: “Myself and my colleagues have been physically assaulted. We’ve broken up fights, stopped people urinating in their seats, been screamed at.” In her experience, large touring musicals are particularly disruptive. “People tend to be very intoxicated before they arrive and treat the show like a gig. This causes clashes with other audience members. With large amounts of alcohol, things can escalate quickly.”
In the Bectu survey, more than half of respondents felt their employers needed better drink policies. “Alcohol does play a part,” says Philippa Childs, head of Bectu. “We think there should be limits.” Respondents also highlighted audiences’ sense of entitlement, perhaps linked to the cost of living. “Lots of these shows are expensive,” says Maddie, “meaning people feel like they are entitled to behave as they please.”
The Stand is a group of comedy clubs in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle. “It’s difficult to say whether it’s worse post-pandemic,” says the Edinburgh deputy manager Kat MacGregor. “There was a honeymoon period where people were really appreciating being out. Then it went back to how it was.” Disruption is almost always linked to alcohol, MacGregor says.
In comedy clubs, the performers often take on crowd-management duties themselves, and many have noticed an increase in poor behaviour – chatting throughout shows, shouting out, and extreme inebriation. Alexander Bennett has been a standup for 14 years and mostly performs in London. “Heckling has increased a bit but sadly not improved,” he says. “But chatter is far more disruptive and difficult to deal with. We spent two years looking at each other through screens. Some people’s brains still think they’re behind that glass. But we can all see and hear them now, and we’d like them to shut up.”
In a perhaps related phenomenon, more people are using phones during shows – sometimes even filming comedians. Bennett recently kicked out a group for livestreaming a show. “I feel basic politeness and the social contract of watching a performance is not exclusionary,” he says.
Part of the issue could be a mismatch in expectations. Some people arrive at musicals expecting to sing and dance while other customers would really rather they didn’t. Musicals such as Six and & Juliet have organised specific singalong shows, to ringfence performances where such audience participation is appropriate. Meanwhile the Ambassador theatre group has said it will now avoid phrases such as “the best party in town” in marketing materials.
Many comedians say a rise in viral clips of performers interacting with hecklers has led to skewed views of what a comedy night involves. “We get a couple of customers most nights who have this misconception that a comedy show is about heckling the act,” says MacGregor. “We explain, ‘You’re disrupting the show for everybody else – it ruins the act’s flow.’ We try to stamp it out, but in a way that allows people to understand why. There are some punters who want to get roasted by comics, though. There’s no accounting for them.”
Most venues already have rules to govern audience behaviour. Just as cinemas tell you to switch off your phone, theatres communicate messages via ushers or pre-show announcements. At Maddie’s theatre, there are clear rules about singing, filming and alcohol consumption. “The challenge,” she says, “is enforcing them.” Some shows have introduced lighthearted approaches, such as “a character asking the audience to follow certain rules”, says Maddie. “If you can get audiences on side early, it reduces conflict.” Bennett agrees – uniting the crowd is crucial: “I’ve seen gigs drastically improve after a disruptive person leaves, as the remaining audience are united in their rejection of that behaviour.”
The Stand believes it has fewer incidents than other comedy clubs, possibly thanks to its personal approach, which includes staff greeting customers at the door. “That sets the tone of the night,” says MacGregor, who tries to impart rules with a humorous twist. “I always say, ‘We strongly recommend you put your phones on silent, unless you enjoy being publicly shamed.’ That gets them smiling but makes them think.”
In a move away from strict audience etiquette, many venues now offer “relaxed performances”. In London in 2020, Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) became the world’s first relaxed venue, creating a “tolerant environment”, says artistic director Tarek Iskander, and foregrounding access needs. A person with Tourette’s can freely tic, someone with sensory issues can leave to decompress, while ear defenders and chillout spaces are available. You won’t find rigid rules about dress code, silence or re-admission to the auditorium, and Iskander is especially keen that audiences don’t “police each other” through shushing or angry retorts.
“The relaxed venue model,” he says, “discourages that behaviour, and says that we are a collective but we all experience this in different ways and part of the joy of a live performance is that the audience are part of it. We aspire to be as welcoming as possible to a broad range of people.” It is not “anything goes” though. “We don’t tolerate behaviour that is cruel or harmful to others,” says Iskander. “A lot of these are grey areas. You have to trust your staff to make tough calls.”
Feedback has been positive, Iskander says. People with access needs feel welcome, older people enjoy the freedom, while parents have fewer anxieties about bringing children. “People always assume that it creates some sort of anarchy, but that’s not the case,” Iskander says. The experience may be alien for old-school theatregoers, so BAC alerts audiences about “what to expect, encouraging an environment of mutual respect”. It has proven so successful that, while many venues report increased antisocial behaviour, Iskander says: “We’ve not experienced any bad behaviour from our audiences.”
The key at comedy clubs is to have everyone laughing together. “It’s a lovely thing to witness,” says MacGregor, who has noticed some people enjoying shows so much, they unconsciously repeat lines. That’s totally different from non-stop heckling or conversation, which can actually be dealt with gently: offering drunk hecklers water, reiterating why chiming in derails the show, or a “pacifying” refund if someone is finally evicted.
This month, Bectu launched Anything Doesn’t Go, a campaign to tackle antisocial behaviour. Its Safer Theatres Charter outlines standards it wants UK venues to agree to, including publishing behavioural rules, tackling the impact of alcohol, and zero-tolerance policies for “violent, abusive or discriminatory” behaviour. “Staff want employers to be more supportive,” Childs says. “The time for action is now. Venues need to talk to their workforce to find out what needs to be put in place. Behaviours have deteriorated and it’s time for a reset.”
Iskander says: “We have a motto at BAC, ‘Not for you, not for me, but for us.’ That seems to me something that supports both wild creativity but also cares for others. That’s always the combination we’re trying to achieve.”
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